Devil's Advocate
by rgm0005
Summary: Takato thought it was all a game. Lucemon played upon that belief. And the Digital World trembled, as that smiling boy walked. Things would never be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

This Idea sort of began as a Xanatos Gambit on the part of GranDracmon, but then, in a conversation about something completely different (Astamon, to be precise), GranDracmon was cut out of the picture entirely, and was replaced swiftly by Lucemon. Of course, that had several problems, mainly because the idea (GranDracmon hypnotizing some hapless Chosen/Tamer and making him do his dirty, probably taking the role of conquering the Digital World) no longer really worked without Dracmon's ability to, well, hypnotize. Of course, in the long run, that was probably a good thing, since I decided pretty early on that I wasn't really going to enjoy writing an entire story about some brainwashed minion.

That left me with several problems, though; namely, how was I going to make the idea work.

This lead to a drawn-out conversation between Seiya and I that lasted several hours, but eventually resulted in this. The first thing that was covered was the first major plot hole left in the wake of GranDracmon's disappearance. Who could possibly pose a credible threat to the entire Digital World? This hole was swiftly filled by Lucemon, since the fact that we saw him destroy an entire Digital World lent credence to his ability to threaten it. Also, he's kind of a dick. So yeah, perfect. The second hole, 'who is the guy he's making do this', was complicated by the fact that I dislike writing stories about OC's. That meant we pretty much had to choose a canon character, and was further complicated by the fact that most of the obvious choices were both people I didn't want to write a fic about and also people who've tried this thing before, and failed.

Somehow, during all of this, the fact that in crossovers between either of the Adventures and Tamers, the former was always shown to be fictional, which lead to the thought that there were probably games about the Adventures in such a case, which lead to the realization that the Digimon Kaiser _also_ thought it was all a game, which lead to this. It became quite easy when I remembered that we had someone who, while obviously very interested in Digimon, thought it was all a game (until that person realized it actually _wasn't_), and didn't think of Digimon as being real, and that person would likely jump at a chance to play a new Digimon 'game.' Of course, at _that_ point we remembered that if we did the things we did in videogames (especially role-playing games) in real life, they'd probably be considered sociopathic mass-murderers.

And that just sealed the deal.

_**Devil's Advocate**_

_You Were, Perhaps, Expecting Someone Else?_

"_Let's play a game, Takato."_ The voice said. It came from the strange thing his card reader had become when he'd slashed the blue card through it.

Takato, who had stumbled away from the strange machine in shock, merely became more confused.

"A…game?" He asked hesitantly.

"_Yes. After all…you are our winner."_

He blinked.

"W-winner? Of what?'

"_Of the contest, of course!"_

There was a pause.

"_You do know about the contest, don't you?"_

"Not really…no."

"…_I see. Then allow me to explain. You found a strange Blue Card with the Digimon Logo on it, right?"_

"Yeah…"

"_And since you're listening to me right now, I assume you slashed it?"_

"Um, yes?"

"_Then congratulations! You've just won the Tamer King Contest!"_

"I…did? But-"

"_Never mind that. As the winner, you get a very special prize. Don't you want to see it?"_

As a ten year old boy, Takato was naturally interested in what was quite possibly something very cool, and set aside, for the moment, the fact that he didn't enter any contest.

"Prize?"

"_I said it before, didn't I? Let's play a game, Takato."_

"What kind of game?"

"_The Digital World has been taken over by the corrupt Sovereigns, and they've locked the true ruler away in its heart. The Chosen Children are pawns in their schemes. You're job is to defeat them. Can you destroy the infected Digimon to free Lucemon?"_

"Uh…yes?" Takato was a bit hesitant, unsure of whether he should tell his parents or not.

But it sounded cool.

Though, he'd never heard of any 'Lucemon.'

"_In that case, please bring your Digivice to a computer with internet access."_

The sudden normalcy of that comment nearly threw Takato for a loop.

"Um, okay. There's plenty at school. I'll ask if I can use one after class."

"_Take your time."_ The voice said.

**XxXXxX**

"Okay." Takato said, getting on the computer. "Are you still there, uh…what do I call you?"

"_I'm an advanced computer program; and AI. I'll serve as your guide to the game. So, I suppose you can call me Lucemon."_

Takato thought it a bit weird that what was probably a really expensive computer was being used for a game, but he was honestly more interested in the game itself.

"Okay, Lucemon; what do I do now?"

"_Are you in front of a computer with Internet access?"_ 'Lucemon' asked dutifully.

"Yeah."

"_Is the computer on?"_

Even Takato had to roll his eyes at that question.

"Yeah."

"_Please raise your Digivice to the screen. It may take a few seconds for the wireless connection to begin; I ask you to please be patient."_

Takato didn't say anything to that, he just lifted the Digivice.

It took a few seconds, but suddenly a strange screen appeared. It had a weird, irregular shape, a number of scattered buttons, a number of things that would have been knobs and buttons if it wasn't on a computer screen, and a green light.

But the most interesting feature of the screen was a small window.

He looked at it closer.

It was weird. It was like it really _was_ a window, with something on the other side. It looked too realistic to be just a recorded image.

"_By now, a screen should have appeared. Do you see it, Takato?"_

"Yeah…" He said distractedly.

"_Its voice activated, so to proceed, I need you to repeat after me. Digiport, open."_

"Digiport, open!" Takato said, now eager to proceed.

And suddenly he was blinded by a torrent of light.

**XxXXxX**

Takato groaned.

"What just happened…?" He trailed off as his eyes widened in alarm. "What the hell! Where am I?"

He was not in the computer lab, that was for sure. It was pretty easy to come to that conclusion, because he sincerely doubted that anyone had leveled the city, created a beach, and added an entire _ocean_ in the last five seconds.

And even if, by some turn of events, they _had_, that _still_ wouldn't explain everything. Because he was not on a normal beach and that was not a normal ocean.

Hell, that wasn't even the normal _sky_.

Everything, _everything_, looked like someone had painted it in shades of grey and black.

Even he was like that…

Takato's eyes widened as he looked at himself. And not just because of the change in coloration.

His cloths were different.

"W-what the…?" He wondered, looking at what he was now wearing.

His clothes had changed. In place of his Blue Hoodie and shorts, he was wearing long pants, a T-shirt, a jacket, and…fingerless gloves? And based off that familiar feeling…

Takato reached up to touch his head with one hand.

Yup, he was wearing his goggles. Which wasn't, by itself, weird, since he _did_ wear goggles. However, he hadn't been wearing them in the computer lab.

"What is this?"

"Clothes more becoming of a hero, don't you think?" A voice startled him. Partially because he hadn't expected anyone, and partially because it was familiar.

But that couldn't be.

But he looked anyway, just to be sure.

There was a boy standing a bit further down the beach, and he was the only thing in sight that had color besides grey and black. Takato would have thought him a _human_ boy, if not for the obvious inhuman additions. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and he was wearing something…a toga? Was that what it was called?

Takato wasn't sure.

Though, to be honest, he also didn't really _care_, because the boy had something else, and Takato found it much more interesting.

He had wings. Twelve flawless white angel wings.

The boy was an angel?

"Who are…?" Takato trailed off, because suddenly the boy was right in his face.

And Takato hadn't seen him cross any of the space between them.

Takato would have liked to be proud of the fact that he didn't suddenly scream, but he was acutely aware that the only reason he wasn't was because his heart was stuck in his throat.

That also might have been why he couldn't breathe.

"Don't you remember me, Takato? We've never met face to face, but…surely you remember my voice? It's only been a few minutes since last we spoke, after all."

Indeed, Takato _did_ recognize the voice. That didn't keep him from reminding himself it was impossible, but he _did_ recognize it.

But why deny what was right before his face?

Takato swallowed.

"Lucemon?"

Lucemon smiled and nodded.

"W-what's going on?"

"Welcome to the game, Takato." Lucemon said.

"The game…?" His eyes widened. "This is all a part of the game? But how? Everything looks so real…"

Lucemon lifted a hand and a torrent of bright light struck a boulder some ways away. Takato flinched at the light, but he saw what happened.

The boulder exploded, but…not the way it should have. Instead of shrapnel and debris, it exploded into…particles?

"Data." Lucemon corrected, as if he could read Takato's mind. "Everything in this place is made of Data. The beach…the ocean…the sky…even you and I are data in this place. Though we are slightly different; we're both real, outside this game. I'm a highly advanced AI, and you're a human. But otherwise, everything else is entirely data."

"This is…" Takato said, stunned but not stupid. "This is…_really _advanced."

He bent down to the beach and touched it. It felt real. He lifted a slightly sandy finger to his mouth and licked it. He cringed at the taste. It tasted real, too. He smelt the sea, and besides the color, it looked real, too. And he could hear things; things he'd associate with a beach.

"This is…probably more advanced than _anything_ I've _ever_ _seen_." He turned to Lucemon with a frown, since things didn't quite match up. "So why's it being used for a game?"

"Originally, it was for testing purposes. As you said, this technology is very advanced, but it's also very _new_. It needed to be tested in a controlled environment, and it has been; _extensively_. And it's proven safe to use. The organization responsible for this game also assisted in the creation and testing of this technology, and that testing took the form you see today. In truth, this technology is so advanced that it won't be ready for the public for some time, but before that happened, before we even _started_, we wanted to make sure everything would be safe when it eventually, which, as I said, it was shown to be. But we _also_ wanted to make sure everything was _fun_, and that's where we need your help. If you're still willing, of course?"

"Oh, I'm willing. I'm curious, now." Takato said.

"Good, good. Then allow me to explain. We will be continually creating and modifying this world, and we want you to test it. This world is based off the popular franchise 'Digimon;' as you can see, for the purposes of this game, I have taken the form of 'Lucemon' the rightful ruler of this world. You, on the other hand, have taken to form of yourself, but also as a Digimon Tamer."

"A…Tamer?"

"You're probably familiar with the term 'Chosen Child,' but we're going to try to distance ourselves from that term; I'll explain why in a minute. A Tamer, like the Chosen, is a human partnered to a Digimon. In this game, Tamers will use their Digimon to fight and defeat enemies, gain experience, something we call gathering data, overcome challenges, and, of course, save the world. As you gather data, your Digimon will grow and evolve through the levels you are already familiar with."

Takato nodded to show that he understood.

"The premise of this game is quite simple. I, 'Lucemon,' am the rightful ruler of the Digital World. I have been overthrown and casted down by the traitors that now call themselves the Sovereigns. I'm sure you already understand the basics from just that."

"I need to defeat the Sovereigns and release you?"

"Yes. However, since we realized how predictable that would be, we decided to mix things up a bit. Your main enemies will be the Chosen Children."

"Wait, aren't they the good guys?"

"Yes, exactly. Well, at least, they _think_ themselves to be. But in reality, they are being manipulated by the Sovereigns. And honestly, in the process of serving the Sovereigns, they have accomplished a lot of good; you did see the series, right?"

"Of course!"

"Just checking. However, now, they are a threat to the entire world. Or they will become such if you let things continue. You must stop them by any means necessary. And that's just the thing; you're going to be outnumbered and outgunned, so you're only hope is that you're not outclassed. To achieve victory, you're going to have to do a number of morally questionable things, which will hopefully make you wonder about things like right and wrong, and things like subjective morality. In addition, there's another variable in this game. He calls himself the Digimon Kaiser. He's going to be conquering the Digital World, taking it from the Sovereigns and the Chosen."

"Like me? So he's an ally?"

"It's designed to look like that, but no. He's enslaving and hurting innocent Digimon. He's there to make you question yourself; to make you wonder if what you're doing is right. To make you wonder how you are any different from him."

"But isn't that obvious? I'm doing the right thing. I'm not taking over for myself; I'm freeing you and overthrowing the traitors."

"Well…yes. But the things you see will make you wonder; we built them to wear you down emotionally. Will you be able to endure anyway? That is the question."

"The answer's yes." Takato told him firmly.

"We'll see. But you should know something. The game we're having you test? You're testing it on the highest difficulty level."

"Hard?"

"No; 'Impossible.' 'Hard' is the _lowest_ difficulty setting. On Hard, you fight the eight Chosen, their Digimon, the four Sovereigns, the Digimon Kaiser, and a number of other opponents, all with only your one Digimon and your wits. You will fight enemies with levels ranging from Child to Ultimate, backed by the rulers of the world, and their levels are independent of yours, so you could easily stumble into a fight with Perfect or even Ultimate Digimon as a child, while on 'Hard.'"

Takato licked his lips, partially in fear, partially in excitement.

"What's Impossible like, then?"

"It's basically the same, only you have no extra lives, no hp boosters, no mp boosters, the enemies are stronger, and, oh yeah, there are no save points. If you die, that's it."

"Holy…" Takato whispered. "And you want me to win against those odds? Why not just on Hard?"

"Because the tears of broken gamers taste like candy. Still up for it?"

Takato took a deep breath and nodded.

"Then let it never be said you don't have guts. Congratulations, Takato; you are officially the first player of the game."

"Cool."

"Let's get started then, shall we?" Lucemon said. "I'll explain several rules you're probably unfamiliar with, as well as the…fringe benefits you get for doing this for us, later during the tutorial level. But I'll cover the basics right now, just in case. The first thing you need to know about is that Digivice; it does much more then let you evolve your partner. I'll explain the features during the tutorial level. But for now, hand your Digivice to me."

Takato did, feeling a bit confused. Lucemon took it in his hands, and it glowed more a minute, before he handed it back.

"I just added the first of your fringe benefits; it will also be explained during the tutorial."

"Lucemon, you've mentioned my partner several times…who is he?"

"Good question; I was thinking it was about time we moved on to that anyway. Normally, a Tamer would be bonded to a chosen Digimon from a selection, but in your case, as thanks for your help, we're going to give you a special opportunity. You will get a chance to design your own Digimon."

"I will!" Takato nearly shouted.

"My, quite eager."

"I'm sorry, it's just…this is like a dream come true for me."

"Then I suppose you have several ideas in mind? A warning, I cannot make a Digimon that's _too_ powerful; I can't just partner you with a Perfect or an Ultimate, as much as that would simplify things."

"Not a problem; I already know exactly what I want. I had it in a notebook that I got in trouble for drawing in earlier today. I got it back after class, though."

"Did you have the notebook on you?"

"Yeah, but that was back in the Real World."

"Check." Lucemon ordered.

Takato blinked, but did as he was told.

"Hey! It's here! How…?"

Lucemon just smiled and extended a hand. Takato forked over the notebook.

"Hm…Guilmon? Yes…this will work nicely. Very well then, prepare yourself Takato. You are about to become the Tamer of a unique Digimon." Lucemon said, giving back the Notebook. "Do you see the part of your Digivice that looks like a card reader? Slash this drawing through it."

Takato took a deep breath and gave it a shot. He brought the edge of the notepad down into the card scanner and…it got stuck. And nothing happened.

Takato frowned and opened his mouth to ask what's going on, but he was cut off before he could even begin by a strange noisy. A noise like something whirling. And then…a noisy like something tearing.

His Digivice was tearing the pages out of the notepad and scanning them like they were cards.

"That is so cool-AH!" He suddenly screamed as his Digivice erupted with a bright light. He made a note to himself; get used to sudden bright lights, 'cause they show up a lot in this game.

All around him, things started breaking down. The water, the sand on the beach, even the _air_; they suddenly exploded into data particles as the Digivice finished scanning the pages of the notepad. They began to swirl into a vortex with the Digivice at its center, and, in seconds, all of it was sucked into it.

After a moment of silence, Takato thought it was safe.

"What the hell was that-AH!" This time, the sudden light was accompanied by an explosion of force that picked Takato up and threw him away. "I can't believe I didn't see that coming!"

Lucemon, for his part, was unaffected by the lights, the data typhoon, and even the explosion. He just stood patiently until it all subsided.

"It's safe now, Takato; you can open your eyes."

"You know, that's the type of advice I could have used earlier." Takato said, lifting himself up and opening his eyes.

Lucemon ignored his comment, and Takato turned his head to see what he was looking at.

Suddenly, all of his irritation was forgotten.

There, beside his Digivice, was a large spotted egg.

"For unto us a child is born." Lucemon said.

**XxXXxX**

Takato sat silently on the beach, staring at the spotted egg.

"How long do you think it'll take to hatch?" He asked, not even looking away from the egg.

"I don't know. But given that we're in the Dark Area, and that it's a Virus type…probably not too long. You should go home for now, Takato."

That was enough to snap Takato away from the egg.

"But-"

He's reply was cut short before it could go any further.

"You've been here quite awhile. Your parents are probably worried about you."

Takato's eyes widened.

"I completely forgot! I'm late by now! How long has it been?"

"Oh, a little over two hours."

His words just made Takato wince harder.

"You're right; I have to go. When can I come back?"

"Any time you have both your Digivice and a computer with internet access, you can return to this place."

"My parents have one; I should be able to get on later."

"Very well. I'll see you then."

Lucemon gestured and Takato was gone. He nonetheless waited patiently for a few seconds, just to be sure.

The moment he was, he walked over to the egg and picked it up with one hand.

"And so it begins." He muttered.

A mark on his hand began to glow. It looked like a triangle within a circle, with each of its vertices touching a spot on the edge. Where it did, another triangle was connected on the other side of the circle. All the triangles were equilateral.

Wherever Lucemon's fingers touched the egg, black veins, like liquid shadows, began to swim over the egg. They slithered over its surface until the entire shell was black.

And then it cracked. Cracks appeared in the darkness, as though it was a shell, and those cracks quickly expanded. Piece by piece, the Darkness fell, until all of it was gone. And it wake was…Guilmon's completely unchanged egg.

Lucemon put the egg down, exactly where it had been, and nodded to himself in satisfaction.

**XxXXxX**

Takato made his way to his father's computer. It had been surprisingly easy to pacify his parent's worries. He'd told them he'd been allowed to use one of the computers at school, and had ended up getting distracted and losing track of time. His parents had accepted that easily enough, since he had a tendency to get distracted by all sorts of things.

Perhaps they were just used to it by now?

He wasn't sure he liked what that said about him.

Regardless, he'd made it through it all without getting punished, which was the important thing. Even better, his parents were letting him use the computer while they were working.

He was barely able to stand the wait as the computer powered up, and the moment it was ready he lifted his Digivice. In seconds the screen he was now referring to as the Digiport appeared.

"Digiport, open!" Takato didn't shout, but only because he didn't want to draw his parents attention.

Takato showed enough foresight to close his eyes before his was blinded by any lights, and he mentally patted himself on the back for remembering.

He counted to three, figured the light had probably faded by now, and opened his eyes again.

He was back on Lucemon's beach.

"Back again, Takato?" Lucemon's spoke from behind him. "Pretty good timing. Your egg has recently hatched."

"What!" Takato looked around, searching for his partner. "Where is he?"

Lucemon chuckled.

"Don't worry; as a favor, I decided to give your partner his first meal."

"I missed Guilmon's first meal?" Takato said, and was surprised at how upset he was by the news.

Lucemon outright laughed at that. He floated over to Takato and patted him on the head.

"He was really hungry and I didn't know when you were going to be able to come back. But don't worry, it was just me crushing a few rocks and letting him load them. It was a snack, at best, but it was the best I could do from in here. He's probably still; he just isn't starving anymore. Go introduce yourself and we'll start the Tutorial Level so that you can get him some _real_ food."

The chance to meet his partner blew away all of the sadness of not being there when he hatched.

"Where is he?"

Lucemon pointed down the beach.

"Over there; you can't miss him. He's surrounded by things I crushed for him."

Takato hurried off in that direction without another word.

He was, indeed, easy to find in that circle of destruction. Takato stood for a moment, just outside it, and just looked at his partner. He seemed to be sleeping. He looked exactly as Takato had drawn him; his body was reptilian, to be sure, and mostly red. Black strips and markings were spread artistically across his form; they usually took the forms of lines, but some were triangles, such as on his hands, feet, shoulders, and head. His belly was white and-

Takato frowned.

That shape…that hadn't been on his drawing.

Lucemon landed beside him.

"Impressive, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but Lucemon…what's that shape on his stomach…I didn't draw that."

"Ah, so you noticed." Lucemon extended one hand, and revealed that the same sign was on it. "It's another fringe benefit; this marking is placed on special Digimon such as Guilmon and I. I'll leave its effects a secret for now, but it's quite impressive. Don't worry about it."

Takato nodded in acceptance at that.

It _did_ look pretty cool, anyway.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" Lucemon asked, changing the subject.

Takato whispered back.

"He's sleeping."

"Only because he got bored. He was very excited to meet his Tamer when I told him about you. Come." Lucemon said, stepping into the circle.

The moment he did, Guilmon was on his feet and alert. His yellow eyes riveted towards Lucemon and Takato.

Lucemon didn't even slow down.

Since Lucemon didn't show any fear, Takato decided not to either, and followed after him. He sped up for just a second in order to match his stride, but then slowed down after he had.

Seeing this, Guilmon returned the gesture and approached. He ignored Lucemon entirely and headed straight for Takato who didn't back down.

It was just a game, after all, and he doubted his own partner would kill him in it.

Indeed, all Guilmon did was sniff him, and his expression shifted in happiness. Of course, since he was basically a miniature dinosaur, and Takato hadn't held back at all when giving his drawing teeth, it was more 'terrifying glee' than 'happiness.'

Takato thought it was amazingly cool.

"He recognizes me." Takato noted. "Does he know I created him?"

"He might." Lucemon said. "Shall we begin, then?"

"The Tutorial? I'm ready. Are you ready, Guilmon? Lucemon says there'll be a lot for you to eat."

Guilmon nodded happily at that and Takato had to laugh.

"Does he know my name?" Takato asked while Lucemon worked on…something.

"I don't think so." He replied distractedly.

Takato knelt by his partner.

"I'm Takato. I'm your Tamer."

"Takato. Tamer." Guilmon repeated.

Takato smile widened at that.

"There we go." Lucemon interrupted. Beside him stood a…television? Takato was a bit confused; there hadn't been one a second ago. "You should be able to use this the same way you used your own computer. It'll take you to the Tutorial Level."

"One question. If you can create ways out of the Dark Area, what's keeping you here?"

"I can't cross them, because of the seals in place."

"Seals?"

"I'll explain later; there's nothing you can really do about them with a Child partner, anyway, so don't worry about it."

Takato lifted an eyebrow, but complied.

"Come on, boy. Let's do this. Oh, by the way, here's a tip; close your eyes. Digiport, open!"

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon and Takato found themselves in a desert.

"Lucemon? There's nothing here." Takato told his Digivice.

"_Not right there, no. This seems like a good time to introduce you do one of the functions of your Digivice; the Radar Function. Press the left button on your Digivice twice."_ Lucemon replied through it.

Takato did so. The first time he pushed it, nothing seemed to happen, so he pushed it again.

And suddenly, a holographic screen expanded from his Digivice.

"_Your Digivice should be showing a location with lots of Digimon in it. That location is the Pyocomon village, and is your target. One of the main purposes on the Tutorial is to get you used to the combat system; your first goal is to destroy every single Digimon in that village and have Guilmon load them."_

"Pyocomon? Isn't that a Baby Digimon?"

"_Yes, so they shouldn't be able too much to your Guilmon if you play smart. Their role in this level is much like that of orcs or giant spiders; they're here for you gain data by killing them."_

Takato nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. Kill them, and don't ask too many moral questions."

"_Either while or after you destroy the Pyocomon, Meramon will appear. He's an Adult level Flame Type Digimon that lives near Mount Mihirashi, a volcano from which he can draw power. If you go straight to fight him with Guilmon while he's in the volcano, you will lose. However, if you draw him down to the village after loading everyone in it, you could win."_

"Is that why we're destroying the village?"

"_Yes. This is a lesson in how to play the game. There's more than one way to skin a cat, so don't limit yourself to the obvious solutions."_

"Got it. Massacre the village, kill the guy who comes to save, and have a party later. I'm supposed to be the good guy right?" Takato asked, already walking towards the village.

"_Tell me about it; you'll be shocked at some of the things you'll have to do as the protagonist in this game. Still up for it?"_

"I'm going, I'm going."

**XxXXxX**

To the Pyocomon, it was just another beautiful day. They'd gotten more water from Mount Mihirashi, whose heat had killed the bacteria in it. They'd also eaten the delicious seeds they all liked so much. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and everything was wonderful.

And suddenly, all of that changed with a single word.

"Fireball!" A voice they'd never heard before shouted.

A powerful blast of flame shot into the middle of a small group of Pyocomon, and the four of them were deleted in a second. In the stunned silence that followed, nobody noticed that the data was drifting towards someplace.

The screaming started almost instantly.

Quite a few of the screaming voices were suddenly silenced by a flash of scales, and teeth, and claws. Whatever predator had found its way amongst them, it was fast.

"Everyone, Hide-" The voice was cut off by another blast of fire, one that deleted the source and the Pyocomon behind it. The price of drawing attention to yourself.

Nonetheless, its message was heard. The Pyocomon scrabbled to hide.

Most of them succeeded.

But many went down to flashes of teeth, to glimmers of claws, and to flares of heat.

One Pyocomon, who'd managed to hide, tried to tell herself that she was safe. She was out of sight inside her house, she was being silent, and the entire area was so full of Pyocomon who spent their whole lives here that no one was going to track her by scent, since it was both all over the place and likely drowned out by the many, many other similar scents.

She was safe she told herself.

"Behind that wall, Guilmon." A voice said.

A human voice. A Chosen Child?

She managed to have one final thought before the claw that tore through the wall tore through her just as easily.

How did he know?

**XxXXxX**

"Good job, Guilmon; just a few more." Takato said, most of an hour later. "Not getting too full there, are you? Lucemon, can Digimon get full on data?"

"_Not that I'm aware of. Though, with the way you've chewed through about a thousand Pyocomon in less than an hour, it's possible Guilmon's the first."_

Takato laughed at that. He was pretty proud of Guilmon right now; maybe an hour old and already tearing apart armies.

"Where's this Meramon guy, anyway? Didn't you say he'd come down and fight if we destroyed the village?"

"Burning Fist!"

Takato didn't give the wave of fire a second glace, he just barked his orders.

"Guilmon, Come!"

The red dinosaur, who had been sniffing around in a vain attempt to find more Pyocomon to snack on, immediately disregarded his search and obeyed. A swift jump, a blur of red, and a dodged attack later, the Digimon stood by his partner's side.

He immediately growled. He sensed his attacker now that he wasn't distracted, and he would have found his location in moments, even if his Tamer _hadn't_ nodded in the proper direction. His eyes adopted a feral gleam, his teeth bared; only his Tamers hand on his head kept him from attacking.

"He finally showed. It certainly took him long enough."" Takato said, mainly for Lucemon's sake, since he wasn't sure if he could see through the Digivice as well as speak.

"_And only an hour too late to matter."_ Lucemon replied.

"Better late than never, I suppose."

He lifted his Digivice like Lucemon had shown him to with the Pyocomon. A holographic screen appeared, much like the one that had previously shown a radar. But this was no radar; this was a picture perfect image of Meramon, surrounded by data and information on him.

Takato spoke out loud for Guilmon's sake.

"Meramon, Adult Flame Type Digimon. This Digimon was born from the defense wall "Firewall" for the purpose of protecting the internet from Digimon who enter it illegally. He is rarely violent, and it seems the flames that engulf his body generally seem to scorch him. His special attacks are Burning Fist, Crimson Flame, Magma Bomb, and Fire Wave. Not bad. Are you still hungry, Guilmon?"

He got nothing but a feral growl in response, but he heard the undercurrents of rage and desire within it.

Takato chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes."

**XxXXxX**

Some ways away, Meramon burnt with rage. He burnt with fire, too, and he fully intended to share the latter situation with these…these…these _monsters_.

"Why…" He demanded in a voice that was somewhere between a roar and a bonfire burning. "Why would you do this! Why would you kill all of these Pyocomon! What could they have possibly done to deserve this!"

The monster that was shaped like a man, for Meramon didn't consider him human, laughed and then spoke.

"Stay frosty, dude. They didn't do anything; they were just the, what's the word for it…hors d'oeuvres. As for the reason they're all dead…we just wanted you to come down here. Maybe if the main course hadn't taken so long, we wouldn't have eaten all the appetizers."

The manlike monster knelt beside the red Dinosaur. He pet his stomach, coaxing a growl may have had a note of pleasure in it.

"Poor little guy; I've had to stuff him with small fries and morsels while we waited. It's a miracle he hasn't gotten sick because of all the junk food he's eaten." The beast beneath that Manish façade lifted his head to look at Meramon. "He needs something with…substance. Something with a little more fight in it. Something he can _sink his teeth into_. Something like…you. Guilmon…eat until you're full."

The monster that looked the part changed his growl into a roar.

And then…blurred?

No, Meramon realized, he's just moving really fast.

Meramon narrowed his eyes. If he focused…yes! He could see more than a red blur. He could see-!

Meramon caught the creature by the neck, and swung him like he was weightless. He threw him into what had once been a Pyocomon's house.

The monster went through it, and straight into the house behind it.

"Crimson Flame!" He shouted. The blast of flame exploded from his fist, burning away what remained of the first building, and causing a huge explosion in the second.

Meramon turned, with narrowed eyes, towards the other.

The boy was casually reclining on a bench that had miraculously remained unharmed. He spared Meramon a brief glance before turning his attention to the location of his partner in crime.

He smiled and hummed a note of amusement.

Meramon had a moment to be confused before a blast of fire took him upside the head.

And, shockingly, it _hurt_. Only a little, but still, it was a blast of fire; it should have been an exercise in futility to use it on him.

"You're a Data Type, aren't you, Meramon?" The boy asked. "Hm…that makes things convenient."

Meramon spared him a growl before turning towards the source of the pain.

The red Digimon was pulling himself from the rubble. Well, really, he just stood up and it fell from him like rain water. He seemed unharmed by the attack.

Meramon was a bit annoyed; sometimes he hated being a Data Type, because it always meant he had a hard time with certain types of Digimon.

"A Virus, huh?" Meramon tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck, no mean feat since he didn't actually have a skeletal system. "It doesn't matter. It just means we have to do this the hard way."

The boy chuckled.

"You're right; since it looks like Fireball isn't very effective, Guilmon's just gonna have to tear you to pieces with his claws instead. Sic 'em, boy."

The beast snarled while he lunged at Meramon. Taken by surprise by how suddenly things had reverted to melee combat, Meramon barely managed to interpose his arm between Guilmon's fangs and his throat, and reduced a cry of pain to a hiss when the fangs sunk in. He hoped that the flames of his body would burn his opponents mouth, but had no such luck; likely a downside of fighting someone who spat fire.

The symbol on the beast's stomach pulsed red, and the flames around his jaws began to change color, darkening to red and quickly progressing towards black.

Meramon's hiss reverted to a cry. His flames were _burning_ him, at least where the flames were changing color.

Unfortunately, that area happened to be increasing. The colors around the wound were also changing, as though-

Meramon cursed in realization.

As though being infected by a Virus.

"Burning Fist!" Meramon shouted, delivering the attack at point blank. This time his attack tore a yelp of pain from his target.

Of course, he didn't come away unscathed either. He'd blown Guilmon off his arm, and though his uncorrupted flames didn't hurt him, he'd still basically torn the creature off of his arm.

Without prying away his teeth.

And so, in the process, Guilmon had torn a chunk of digital flesh from his arm.

At least those flames were changing back now that Guilmon was no longer connected.

And he'd managed to burn its face in the process.

Meramon also noticed something that improved his morale; the boy was looking a lot less cocky now. He'd lost his relaxed smile, and was now frowning at him. He didn't take his eyes away from Meramon as he talked to his partner.

"How you doing there, Guilmon?"

A growl was his only response.

The boy nodded, but still didn't look away.

"Well, on the bright side, those teeth of yours hurt him quite a bit." In contrast to his eyes, he spoke as though Meramon wasn't there. "I guess we have two choices now; we can wear him down over time from long range, which would be safer but tedious. Or, you could just tear those arms of his off. It's your choice."

Guilmon lowered himself closer to the ground and attacked again. This time it was no senseless lunge; it was a predators dash. He ran with his body nearly parallel to the ground, and low enough that if there was a table between him and his opponent, he likely could have gone straight under it without slowing.

And he was certainly moving fast.

He attacked with his right claws first and aimed for his enemy's unprotected belly, but Meramon was prepared this time, and he didn't even make contact. Instead, Meramon leaned backwards maybe five centimeters, and the claws hit nothing but air. As soon as they had missed, he leaned back forward, and he brought his fist with him.

The blow took Guilmon across the face, and slide along the ground nearly three meters, before he turned the slide into a roll, and landed back on his feet.

He attacked again, in much the same way, but he aimed for Meramon's thigh with his left claws.

Meramon responded by brushing aside Guilmon's left arm with his right, and slamming his right knee into his chin.

Guilmon slide back once again, but only half a meter this time, and his feet never left the ground. As soon as he stopped, he attacked again.

And so it continued. A bite aimed for Meramon's left arm was answered by his right fist to the left side of Guilmon's face. Another attack to the stomach was responded to by grabbing his arm and pulling him into a punch. A successive strike to the stomach caught Meramon slightly by surprise and inflicted a minor wound, but was returned with a punch to Guilmon's own stomach. An attack to Meramon's right side missed entirely as he stepped lightly to the side and slammed his elbow into Guilmon's face.

And then everything began to change.

Another attack to the thigh missed, but this time, Meramon's responding fist was dodged. Guilmon attacked again, and scored a blow to Meramon's left side before his left fist succeeded where his right had not.

A bite that was aimed for his knee was dodged with a swift sidestep, but so was the replying kick. Guilmon's claws never connected with his thigh, but Meramon's fist didn't connect with his face, either. And then Guilmon _did_ manage to claw at his left hip, _and _dodge the angry backhand. He scored another blow to the left side, slightly above the first, before Meramon retaliated successfully with his right fist.

Guilmon focused more on the left side in response to the successful attacks.

He attacked twice with his claws, and missed, but he was vicious enough to push the injury-favoring Meramon back enough to not worry about dodging any attacks. He then took Meramon by surprise; he swiftly turned and swept his tail at Meramon's legs.

Due to Meramon's superior size, it did little more then throw him off balance, but throwing him off balance was enough; Guilmon raked his claws across Meramon's left thigh.

Realizing that he was losing, and to a Child, at that, Meramon quickly decided he'd had enough.

"Magma Bomb!"

The sudden rain of magma rocks dissuaded Guilmon's attempted advance. Using the brief pause granted by not being under attack, Meramon attempted to shift the tide of the battle by putting Guilmon on the defensive.

"Fire Wave!"

The flames of Meramon's body grew and intensified and he rushed towards Guilmon who was forced to quickly backtrack away from the flames. In truth, while the flames were a dangerous attack in and of themselves, their true purpose was to keep Guilmon out of melee range.

Safely out of harm's way, Meramon took advantage of his ranged attacks, knowing that Guilmon's weren't very damaging to him.

"Crimson Flame!" He cried, punching with his right fist as he stepped forward with his left foot.

Guilmon was forced to scrabble way from the flames, for though he knew they couldn't really hurt him either, he was also aware that being put in a position in which Meramon could rain down blows was a bad idea.

"Crimson Flame!" Meramon repeated, stepping forward with his right foot and firing with his left. Guilmon was also forced to repeat his evasive maneuvers.

Meramon didn't let up; he attacked with each step he took. He had the advantage now, and more to the point, he knew the area better. If he could lead Guilmon into an area where evasion was impossible, then he could simply rain down blow after blow until his enemy stopped moving.

Just a few more steps and his opponent would be trapped between Meramon and a rock wall, with Pyocomon houses on either side.

Of course, Meramon wasn't the only person to notice this, and he quickly cursed himself for forgetting about his other opponent when he heard his voice.

"Guilmon, attack his wounds!"

The beast didn't even hesitate, its loyalty was so unquestioning.

"Fireball!"

Meramon's assault faltered as the attack connected with his left side. It didn't do too much damage, but it felt like someone was rubbing salt on his wounds.

"Get behind him!" The beast's master ordered.

Guilmon took advantage of his opponents pause and dashed between his opponents legs. Meramon's invigorated flames burnt him as he did, but he seemed to pay them no mind in his hurry to follow his orders.

"Push him back!" The voice followed up, and Meramon noted a great deal of glee in it.

And he knew why.

He was about to be shoved into his own trap.

"Fireball!" The blast didn't hurt, but it made him stumble.

"Fireball!" Again, he stumbled, but this time he managed to turn around in the process.

It did him no good.

"Go for the face!" The boy commanded.

"Fireball!" The blast took him straight in the face and forced him back yet again.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" The three successive blasts to the face hurt, and more importantly, knocked him off his feet.

Meramon felt fear. He was lying prone; he knew what was about to happen.

"Get on him, boy!"

The beast landed on him with a pounce, and bared him down with his superior position. Those slavering jaws opened and flames lingered in their depths.

Five blasts; five successive, point-black blasts to the face slammed Meramon's head into the ground one after the other. It hurt.

A lot.

The monster would have continued, too, if a voice hadn't interrupted.

"Guilmon…"

Meramon had a suspicion he wasn't going to say anything good.

"_Break him_." The statement fell as though it was an executioner's blade; an example that was, Meramon noted, probably fitting.

"Rock Breaker!" The beasts claws came down, and true to the attacks name, the force of the blow was powerful enough to crack the ground all around his head.

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon repeated its attack, and the cracks grew alongside Meramon's pain.

"Rock Breaker!" He did so again.

"Rock Breaker!" And again.

"Rock Breaker!" And again.

"Rock Breaker!" And again.

**XxXXxX**

"Good job, boy." Takato said, as his partner loaded the remains of his opponent. "I'd say that went well. What do you think, Lucemon?"

"_I'd say you passed the Tutorial Level. Not bad. So let me give you a reward."_

Takato's Digivice began to glow. In particular, light was emitting from the card reader.

There was a familiar whirling sound, with an undercurrent of something different…printing, perhaps?

And that observation seemed to be correct, because something began to emerge from his Digivice.

Takato recognized it before it even fully emerged.

After all, he'd spent the last few minutes looking at the thing printed on it.

"Meramon…" He whispered. "A Meramon card?"

"_A victory prize. This is the result of the gift I gave you earlier; the fringe benefit I installed into your Digivice. Any Tamer can augment their partner with cards…but only you can produce them yourself."_

"Awesome. I can do this with anyone Guilmon loads?"

"_Uh-huh."_

"What about the Pyocomon?"

"_Why would you want Baby Level Cards?"_

"For memories sake, you know? Besides, I don't think there even _is_ a Pyocomon card. I'll be the only one who has one."

"…_Okay…"_

Moments later, he was holding a one of a kind Pyocomon card.

"Thanks, Lucemon; you're the coolest."

"_Thanks, I guess."_

"Think we should call it quits for today?"

"_Yeah, the end of the Tutorial Level is a pretty good place to end things for today. You've proven your worth as a Tamer by helping Guilmon defeat a statistically superior opponent. Congratulations."_

"What's Level One like?"

"_Well, the only _real_ level is the Tutorial Level; everything else is divided into quests, though you can also just wander around."_

"So I have to beat all the quests to free you?"

"_Not quite. A number of them are for freeing me, but many others involve doing things for me while I'm stuck in the Dark Area. You know, taking control of certain areas, defeating certain enemies…it's all stuff that helps me in some way or another, and they all come with rewards of some sort or another._ _And of course, there's the Chosen Children and Sovereign Plotlines, as well as the Digimon Kaiser, which exist independent of the Quests; rather then there being anything specific that they're doing, they mainly complicate things until they're dealt with. For example, if you're trying to reclaim a city for me, they'll likely attempt to interfere. Not every time, of course, but sometimes, and they generally complicate things."_

"What happens if I complete all the quests?"

Lucemon laughed.

"_I'll tell you what; if you can complete _all_ of the quests, on Impossible, then in addition to all the rewards you will get in the game, I promise I'll permanently have you crowned Tamer King, even if I have to hack some records to do it. Everywhere in the Digital World, the name Takato will be mentioned as the Tamer King's name. I'll work on some other rewards, too; maybe I can program a temple for you or something. But I think you'll like the in game rewards, too."_

"Sounds awesome, Lucemon. What do you say, Guilmon; should we aim for one hundred percent completion?"

Guilmon rubbed his head on his Tamer's leg as though he were a cat. Takato chuckled and pet his partner.

"There you have it, Lucemon; we're game if you are."

"_I'll see you tomorrow, then?"_

"Sounds good. I'll be here."

**XxXXxX**

At the same time, in New York, a girl who once went on an Adventure sat at her computer and listened to an old friends dying words.

"Mi…mi…help…us…"

And then there was nothing.

"Meramon…" She said, looking at her screen in fearful concern.


	2. Chapter 2: Leveling Up

Devil's Advocate

Chapter Two: Leveling Up

They found her at the edge of the Pyocomon's village. She was on her knees crying, Taichi noted in surprise.

He rushed to her, not paying attention to anything else.

"Mimi, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

She only sobbed louder in reply.

"Oh, God…Taichi…look." Sora said; bring his surroundings to his attention.

He looked around, and he saw what was wrong. He could see why he hadn't noticed the first time around, since it was pretty subtle. The only obvious sign of something wrong was the lack of any Pyocomon.

But there was something else, too far away to see. Sora had apparently noticed it first, and was standing by it.

Taichi hesitated for a second; he'd heard Sora's voice and the words she said. He wasn't sure he wanted to see.

But he was the leader. He had to put up a strong front, no matter what. If he couldn't be strong, who could?

He stood, and walked over to his longtime friend, and looked over her shoulder.

His face just sort of went blank, as though his brain was such a whirlwind of emotions that it wasn't sure which expression to put on it.

There were gouges in the wall; three parallel gouges.

Claw marks.

Something had come through here, and left claw marks. And, if Mimi's sobs were any indication, he'd done a lot more than that.

God, where was Agumon? Hell, where were Biyomon and Palmon? They'd said they'd be here.

Taichi froze. What if whatever had been here had gotten to them?

What if that was why Mimi was crying?

"Taichi!" A familiar voice broke in.

Taichi's heart did its best attempt at an Xenomorph impression, and tried to pound its way out of his chest in response to his surprise. He was honestly surprised it failed.

Taichi swung in the direction of the voice so fast that he pushed Sora away by accident.

"Taichi!" She shouted in a mixture of surprise and anger. She noticed Taichi was paying her no attention, though, and looked in the same direction he was. "Biyomon! You're okay! I saw the marks and I was so worried you'd…"

She trailed off, seeing the looks on their faces.

"Agumon…" Taichi said, grimly. He knew that look. It didn't mean anything good.

"They're dead." Biyomon choked out. "They're all dead."

Sora jerked back as if she'd been slapped.

Agumon continued; he could tell how much this hurt Biyomon. She often came to the Pyocomon village. They were her friends.

And now they were gone.

"We searched the village after we met up with Mimi. They're all gone; there's not a single Pyocomon in this village."

"B-but," Sora cut in, unwilling to believe this. "That doesn't mean they're dead! They could have run, or hid, or something!"

Agumon just shook his head.

"We had set up places to hide, just in case something happened. And if they had to abandon the village, Meramon's Mountain was the only place for them to go, and…"

"And what?" Taichi asked. "What happened to Meramon?"

The two Digimon looked at Mimi.

Taichi swallowed and walked back to his sobbing friend. He crouched by her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Mimi, I know this is hard for you, but…I need you to tell me what happened to Meramon."

She took a deep breath to stop the sobs, but that only meant she shed silent tears.

"I got a message." She said, dully.

"From Meramon?" Taichi asked. That's what the message had said, but he needed to be absolutely sure he didn't miss anything.

She nodded, her face expressionless but for the tears.

"What then?"

"I came into the Digital World. The gate was open."

"How? Why?" He knew the gate was open; see also, exhibit A, B, and C, also known as Mimi, Taichi, and Sora. But he didn't know why or how; and he hoped Mimi did; he figured it would be important.

She shook her head, not even looking at him.

"I don't know."

Taichi swallowed. He couldn't put it off any longer. He had to ask.

"What happened then?"

Her poker face shattered, and she started sobbing again.

"I went to Meramon's Mountain. He wasn't there. A few of the Digimon around the Mountain said they'd seen him running for the Village, so I came here. He wasn't here either. No one was here. There were broken walls, and claw marks, and burn marks, but there wasn't a single living Digimon in the entire village." She said through the tears.

Taichi took another deep breath.

"Listen, Mimi, I know it looks bad, but that doesn't mean he's dea-"

"The message he sent me said, and I quote, 'Mi…mi…help…us…', and then it broke off." She cut him off fiercely.

Taichi shut his mouth with a click. That was pretty damning evidence that he was not okay.

"Taichi…who did this?" Sora asked, walking over.

"I don't know…but I'm going to find out. For now…" He looked over at her and then glanced towards Mimi. "Perhaps we should head to the Village of Beginnings."

Sora nodded.

"Biyomon, can you fly all three of us?"

The little bird nodded, but then hesitated.

"Sora, actually…I think I know who did this. Recently, there have been rumors…"

Taichi turned towards her.

"What kind of rumors?"

"Rumors about someone who enslaves Digimon. A human who calls himself the Digimon Kaiser."

"That sounds bad." Sora stated the obvious.

"The question is how bad." Taichi added with a frown. "How powerful is this guy? Does he have Perfects? Or, God, Ultimate's?"

Agumon shook his head.

"No." He paused. "Well, we don't think so. Just Child's and Adult's."

"Well, that's not that bad." Taichi said, trying to look at the bright side.

"But I think it's worth mentioning that the same goes for us, Taichi." Sora pointed out. "We can't reach Perfect anymore, and you and Yamato can't get to Ultimate."

Taichi winced.

"True. How many Digimon has this guy enslaved?"

"Hundreds. And it's getting worse every day."

Taichi took another deep breath.

"Let's take this one step at a time. First, the Village of Beginnings. Then, we'll call the gang and talk about the Kaiser."

Everyone nodded but Mimi, who hadn't moved.

"I thought I'd be seeing you soon." Elecmon said in a tone Taichi didn't like at all.

It was way too grim.

Sora apparently didn't notice the tone because she was too busy being surprised.

"You did?" She asked, blinking.

Elecmon gestured vaguely over to a tree nearby.

Palmon sat on the ground, staring off into space.

Taichi took one glance at here and it cemented the idea that something was very wrong.

"Is something wrong with the eggs, Elecmon?" Taichi asked, no, _demanded_.

The Digimon looked away.

"I guess you could say that. If you consider the fact that they aren't here at all a problem. Which I do."

"Not here? You mean they were stolen." Taichi asked, confused.

Elecmon's head snapped towards him so fast it was amazing he didn't get whiplash. Taichi winced when he saw his face begin to twist with righteous indignation. He cut him off before he could get chewed out.

"Sorry; of course not. But then why aren't they here? Digimon are always reborn at the Village of Beginnings. Hence, the name."

"Not quite, Taichi; remember when Patamon first became Angemon? When he was reduced to an egg, he did so right next to Takeru."

Taichi pointed at her.

"Good point. Could that have been what happened, Elecmon? Could they have formed eggs at the village?"

"There weren't any eggs at the village, Taichi." Agumon told him.

"And besides Angemon, I've never heard of that happening with anyone else. I think it was because he was Takeru's partner; I don't think anyone without a partner could do. Actually, I don't know if anyone else could have done it, even with a partner; it's never come up." Elecmon said skeptically.

"But there's a precedent." Taichi argued. "We don't know why it happened that time, so we can't just dismiss the possibility that it happened this time."

"Something that happened one time, as far as we know, happening a thousand time, over the course of a day?" Mimi said, dully. She moved towards her partner. "That sounds a lot like grasping at straws, Taichi."

Elecmon nodded in agreement.

"And even if it did, where are the eggs?" Elecmon asked.

"Maybe whoever did this took them?" Taichi suggested.

Next to him, Sora had lowered her gaze to the ground.

"Taichi." She said.

She was ignored.

"Why would someone take a thousand Pyocomon eggs?"

"Why would they kill them in the first place? Hell, we don't even know if they were taken. There are no eggs! That could mean they're alive!" Taichi refuted.

"Taichi." Sora repeated, lifting her gaze.

Again she was ignored.

"I think someone would have noticed somebody gathering up and transporting a thousand Pyocomon and a Meramon." Elecmon told.

"Then what?"

"I don't think they formed eggs at all." Elecmon told him seriously.

Taichi reared back as if slapped.

"What? That's ridiculous! Digimon always form eggs when-"

"Taichi!" Sora screamed.

And this time, she wasn't ignored.

Taichi stopped talking, stunned by the outburst. He looked at his friend, and he listened.

"Stop." She said; one word and nothing else.

And he did. He stopped talking, he stopped looking for excuses and explanations; he stopped trying to lie to himself.

Taichi stopped and looked at what all the facts pointed too, and then sank to his knees.

"No. Please, _please_, no." He said, clenching his eyes shut. They were dead? They were really dead? But, Digimon weren't supposed to die. This wasn't how the story was supposed to go. He and the other Chosen would get a call for help and they'd come and save the day; that's what they were supposed to do. That was their _job_, damn it! He didn't even know what was going on and he'd already failed!

It was like a bad dream. That entire village had been destroyed, and for what? Why? Why would anyone destroy that village? Was there something they didn't know? Was there something special about the Pyocomon Village that no one had told them about? It was possible, but Taichi didn't think so. He had a better explanation; one built upon a childhood of dealing with senseless, power hungry villains.

An explanation that had always been horrible, but never quite as horrible as it was now that the rules had changed. Two of them, actually, he realized, thinking about it and getting angrier by the second.

Someone had probably killed them, every single one of those defenseless Pyocomon, for their amusement, for their own _pleasure_. As though this was nothing more than a sick and twisted game for them to play; as though lives weren't being lost and destroyed!

But there was another explanation, and it was one that Taichi hated even more. But that hatred didn't stop him from looking at things rationally. There was, apparently, someone new on the block. If so, then it stood to reason that they could have heard of the famous Chosen, the children that had defended the Digital World so many times before. And if they heard of them, then maybe they'd wondered about them.

Would these children, who'd shown up whenever the Digital World was in danger, do so again? Would they catch wind of the stirring of a new enemy and come back to save the day? Would they come and try to ruin of his plans?

Taichi had certainly thought so. And he'd thought they would have succeeded, as well.

So, if they'd heard of them, and if they'd pondered such thoughts, maybe, just maybe, they didn't even try to run. Maybe they didn't even bother to attempt to hide. Maybe they'd butchered off an entire Village of innocent Digimon, and even one of the Chosen's friends and allies, for the sole purpose of sending them a message- no! Sending them an _invitation_!

Taichi grit his teeth and in his mind he thought of the Village. With one major difference. In front of the village, he pictured words written in the sand.

'Come Get Some.' It said.

Fine. If that was their goal; if that entire senseless slaughter was for the sole purpose of drawing their attention, then someone should congratulate whoever did it.

They'd succeeded.

"Agumon, Biyomon, ask around. Scan the area. Do whatever you can to find out who did this. I don't care how you do it, just do it. Sora, you and I are heading back to the Real World." Taichi lifted himself from his knees. "We're getting back up."

He turned his head to the last two people he needed to address.

"Mimi, Palmon, you stay here. If whoever did this shows up again…" He thought about telling her to be careful. He thought about telling her to run. But he didn't say it, because that not what she needed to hear, and it certainly wasn't what he wanted to say. "…Kick his ass."

We're coming you son of a bitch. And Taichi had a feeling all his friends would agree with him when he said they all wanted a piece.

**XxXXxX**

Takato sighed in relief as he left the school building. The day had seemed to drag on _forever_.

But it was over, and before long he'd be back in the game. Back in a world that seemed so real; back with Guilmon and Lucemon and-

"Takato!" A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Takato glanced over his shoulder at his long time friend.

"Hi, Hirokazu; what's up?"

"Aren't you gonna play today?" Hirokazu asked, lifting his deck. Takato barely suppressed a wince; he'd forgotten. What was worse; now that he remembered, he couldn't say he cared.

He looked for a way out of it that didn't involve obviously blowing off his friend for something he considered more enjoyable, because that felt like a mean thing to do, even if it was true.

"Sorry, man, can't today. I've got some stuff I need to do at home."

Technically, it was true. Takato tried to make himself feel better for ditching on a friend by comforting himself with that fact.

It didn't work, but at least he tried.

Hirokazu visibly deflated, but he perked up again in just a moment.

"Oh, well, that's fine; we can just play tomorrow."

Takato winced again.

"Sorry; I don't think so. Things will probably be busy for quite awhile." He told his friend.

Hirokazu deflated once more, and Takato felt like he'd just kicked a puppy. Given how he was feeling, what he probably should have done was taken back what he said and spent time with his best friend. He knew that; he even thought about doing it.

But he didn't.

"Oh." Hirokazu said, downcast.

Takato looked for a way to make his friend feel better that didn't also take away game time, which led to him blurting out the only thing that came to mind.

"We can still play in the mornings, though!" He said. Hirokazu looked surprised, probably because of how loudly he'd said that. "Like we always do. I'm a bit busy now, but…you're my best friend Hirokazu. Let's play…tomorrow."

Hirokazu blinked once, twice, and then smile.

"Yeah. Of course. See yah tomorrow, Takato!" He said before turning and running away, as eager and energetic as any child who'd just been let out of school.

"See you tomorrow, Hirokazu." Takato whispered, turning away as well. He should have been just as energetic as his friend, but for some reason he wasn't. For a moment, he felt exhausted.

For a moment.

Then he thought of the game, from which his thoughts had been shaken from by his friend's appearance.

He ran the entire way home.

**XxXXxX**

"Welcome back, Takato." Lucemon greeted.

"Hi, Lucemon; it's good to be back. What's the plan for today?"

"Hm, well, rather than a plan, it's more of a situation; the Chosen Children have re-entered the Digital World, and have become aware of your actions concerning Meramon and the Pyocomon."

"What! I thought that was the Tutorial Level!"

"Originally, it was. But then I noticed you butchering legions of innocent, helpless Pyocomon, you monster." Lucemon said with a smirk. His face didn't match his words at all, if anything, he looked…pleased.

"You wrote that into the game just to make things harder for me, didn't you?" Takato asked with a frown.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

"Oh, come on, Lucemon." Takato said, exasperated but smiling nonetheless. "I thought you were on my side!"

"You're on _my_ side." The angel corrected with a smirk. "Remember? Saving the King of the Digital World? The entire point of the game?"

"What does that have to do with you making the game harder for me?"

"Well, it serves my purpose quite well by keeping me from going hungry while I wait." Lucemon explained as though his statement made perfect sense.

Takato lifted an eyebrow.

"How do you figure?"

"Well, you see, I have a garden that I grow stuff in. But you'll notice the water in this place is kind of funky looking; it's black and everything. But obviously, I need to water my plants somehow. And I realized, hey, I can just water it with your tears." Lucemon informed him of his thought process, using elaborate hand gestures and everything.

Takato tried to stay angry, but he couldn't do that _and_ laugh, so he settled on the latter.

"I see." Takato said, nodding as if it all made sense.

"I'm glad you see things my way." Lucemon said, beaming. "Now as I was saying, the Chosen Children have learnt of your monstrous actions. Of course, they don't know that it's you; since you've been in the Digital World proper all of once, and didn't leave anyone alive, that'd be stretching suspension of disbelief. On the other hand, the Digimon Kaiser has had more than enough time to build up a reputation, even if most of it exists only in rumors. He's the natural suspect. And he'll remain that way if nothing makes them aware of its falsehood."

Takato's face became serious, and he nodded again, this time to show he honestly understood.

"From this point, what you do is up to you, though I can, of course, offer you some advice. Keep in mind that I could have ulterior motives, though."

Takato snorted.

"Sure, tell me."

"There are several obvious courses of action, each with varying levels of difficulty. The 'easiest' thing to do, if you can call it that, would to skip all pretenses and make the Chosen aware of your presence immediately; say, by attacking them. However, though this is the 'easiest' way, in that it won't take a lot of thought of effort to maintain a ruse, it is, at the same time, the hardest, because you'll be out-numbered eight to one. But overall, it's very simple; go out there and either win or lose. Probably lose."

Takato shook his head no; that sounded really risky. Lucemon nodded in acceptance of his choice.

"The second option is a bit 'harder' in that it will require more thought and preparation, but it's still relatively simple. They don't know about you; keep it that way. They'll continue to suspect the Kaiser, and when they learn of the extent of his actions, there will no doubt be a confrontation. Even if they learn that he had nothing to do with the Pyocomon Village, his actions regarding Digimon will ensure that they oppose him, even if they continue to search for the true culprit. The obvious thing to do would be to let them weaken each other as much as possible, and then strike."

Takato tilted his head to the side; that sounded like a better option. But...

"Is there a third option?" Takato asked; he wanted to have all his choices laid out before him before he picked one.

Lucemon nodded the affirmative, and Takato leaned forward unconsciously.

"The third option is the hardest to pull off, but, if done successfully, will have the greatest results. The third option is to actively set them against one another, and instead of just stay anonymous and letting things play out by themselves, also work to worsen things for both sides as much as you possibly can. Weaken them as much as possible, but simultaneously remain hidden, and actively work to gain strength while you do so. It will be hard to have such a dramatic effect on them all while nonetheless remaining hidden, but if you can do it, you will be able to strike at them when they are as weak as possible, and you are as strong as possible. If you can actually do it, you would have a tremendous advantage when it finally came time to fight them."

Lucemon tilted his head to the side.

"And, of course, should anything go wrong with your plans, you can always just revert to plan one."

Takato pursed his lips and nodded again.

"So, what do you intend to do?" Lucemon asked.

**XxXXxX**

Takato followed after his partner at a leisurely pace. In contrast, Guilmon was dashing to and fro, sniffing and searching for things that only he understood.

"You sure they're around here, Lucemon?" Takato asked, casually, just taking in the scenery. He couldn't get over how _real_ everything was in this place. In particular, the forest he was walking through looked amazing. It was filled with plants that he didn't recognize and was pretty sure didn't exist in the Real World at all. The closest comparison he could make was that they looked like tropical plants, but even that didn't cover it, because it was not hot or humid in the slightest.

But, of course, he wasn't here to sightsee.

"_I'm sure. Just keep looking around and you'll stumble across them eventually."_

"Can't I just use my Digivice to find them?" Takato asked. But he didn't sound impatient; he was honestly curious.

"_No. They'll show up on it in the same way all Digimon do. Though I suppose you could just kill every Digimon in the area. You monster."_

"There's an idea. But no; if I do that, I'm sure you'll just use it to make more trouble for me. So I'll leave that as plan B. I'll wonder around until I get bored, and if I haven't found what I'm looking for by then, I'll try using Genocide."

"_Okay, but it shouldn't come to that. You're approaching the area they've been most active in. You should be able to see it by now."_

Takato lazily looked up. It was hard to tell through the canopy, but was that a tower?

"Can't really tell through all the trees, but I think I see it, yeah."

"_If you walk towards the Tower, you should run into some of them sooner or later."_

"Gotcha. Oi, Guilmon!" Takato lifted his voice to call his partner.

Guilmon lifted his head at the sound of his Tamers voice. He quickly walked over, and was rewarded by his tamer scratching his ears.

"Hi, boy. Lucemon says the Kaiser's minions should be that way; you head towards them or do you feel like looking around some more?"

Guilmon tilted his head, and looked extremely cute for the unstoppable killing machine he was. After a brief moment of thought, in which Takato wondered if he understood the question, his expression brightened.

"That way?" He asked, enthusiastic. He pointed with one claw in the direction of the tower.

Takato chuckled.

"Yeah. Wanna go, then?"

Guilmon nodded his head energetically.

"Then let's go."

Guilmon took off and left Takato in the dust. The Tamer shook his head and continued to chuckle. He increased his pace to a jog and followed after his partner.

After about five minutes, during which he noticed with some surprise that while there were a great many trees, there didn't seem to be any roots to trip over, he caught up to his partner. Guilmon was crouched low and close to the ground. He was looking at something.

Takato looked over him.

"Ah, we're here."

A number of Digimon were working. They seemed mainly composed of plant based Digimon; Floramon, Palmon, Tanemon, Vegimon, Alraumon, and one or two others. Based on what he remembered, he assumed the Vegimon were the 'leaders', being the only Adult level Digimon in the area.

They all seemed to be working around a single structure, a tall, dark, pointed Tower.

"That it, Lucemon?" He asked, lifting his Digivice in order to let Lucemon see through it.

"_Yes, that's it. The Dark Tower."_

Looking closer, Takato could see pitch black rings on all of the gathered Digimon.

"And these things are important to the Kaiser, right? So he'll get upset if something starts happening to them?"

"_He might or he might not. But he should at least notice their destruction."_

"Close enough. Ready Guilmon?" Takato asked. His partner nodded, never once taking his gaze from the assembled Digimon. "Then let's do it. Remember the plan, and try to stick to it."

The plan wasn't very complicated; Takato figured simplicity would be a virtue in this case. The plan could best be described in one sentence: Scatter the Digimon and blow up the Tower.

Of course, it was a bit more difficult in practice, as scattering dozens of Digimon of various Types and Levels was nowhere near as easy as it sounds. In addition, he had no idea how difficult destroying those Towers was going to be. And to make things even more difficult, if the plan was to go as intended, no one could get a good look at either member of the duo. In fact, they should only recognize them as a young boy with goggles and a reptilian, fire-breathing Digimon; just enough for the Kaiser to make all the wrong conclusions.

But it wasn't as though all the cards were against them. Indeed, Takato smiled as he lifted his prize, at least one card was serving them _very_ well.

"Option three is a go. Card Slash!" He said, bringing the card down into his Digivice. "Meramon, Activate!"

"Magma Bomb!" Guilmon Shouted in reply.

And fire rained from the sky.

Takato wasn't surprised when the first part of the plan worked perfectly. Not because of any self-imagined genius or anything; the first part was really simple.

Make flammable objects burn.

After he figured out that he was going to take option number three, it didn't take much thought to realize that while the Chosen may be on the job in response to Pyocomon Village, the Digimon Kaiser probably didn't give a shit.

That needed to be corrected.

That in mind, it was easy enough to figure out what to do; do the same thing to the Kaiser as he'd done to the Chosen. Destroy something they care about. Of course, the Kaiser probably didn't care about any groups of Digimon overmuch; at least, not free Digimon. So he'd asked Lucemon what the Kaiser cared about, and the answer quickly became obvious.

The Dark Towers. They mattered to the Kaiser; if someone started destroying them, then he'd probably notice sooner or later, and probably get upset.

Even better, if Takato able to restrict information about himself and Guilmon as much as possible, to say, 'a human and a partnered Digimon', or, ideally, 'a Goggled Human and a Fire Breathing Reptile Digimon', then it was possible, nay, likely, that the Kaiser would jump to conclusions. Especially once the plan gains enough momentum to have the two groups make contact; the description also fit Taichi.

And once he'd figured out what he was targeting, it was a simple enough matter to figure out exactly which Tower to start with.

Guilmon primarily used fire-based attacks. The Meramon card gave him even more fire-based attacks. Why not pick a place where fire was an advantage. Such as, oh, say, a forest of flammable objects and Digimon.

So when the Magma Bomb rained from the sky and set the entire area aflame, Takato wasn't surprised. In fact, he wasn't even paying attention. Instead, he was gauging the reactions of the enslaved Digimon.

Ah, good. At the very least, they had enough will to realize they were in danger, and try to get out of it. Granted, it didn't work very well; the entire point of a surprise attack was to surprise. As such, many of the Digimon were set on fire, and started screaming and running frantically.

Takato shifted his attention away from that and back to Guilmon.

"The Digimon have scattered; go straight for the Tower. Crush anyone that gets in the way."

A growl and an inhumanly large jump were his only responses.

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon landed amidst the flames. The flames blacked the ground, and smoke rendered blinded him as well as it did his enemies, the stench of the burning clouded his nose. The bonfire that the forest had become burnt plant and Digimon alike.

Except for Guilmon.

Standing there in the destruction, blinded but not burning, he felt…at home.

And though his eyes could not see and he could not track with his precious nose, he was not afraid. He was not nervous. He was not hesitant for even a moment.

He was _excited_.

And he was not alone.

"_Three meters forward, six meters to the left. A Palmon, Data Type. Use a Rock Breaker to shatter the ring on her forearm. Then move one meter further to the left and you'll have a straight line to the Tower; it's the least populated path. Go straight for it."_

A voice spoke to him that was not his own. His Tamer's voice resounding through his mind. He listened, he heard the instructions.

And he trusted and obeyed.

He tore through the smoke like a comet of red and fire. The Palmon didn't have time to react properly, it didn't even see him until it was staring him right in the eyes.

Nonetheless, it tried to defend itself. It lifted its arms in a pathetic attempt to shield itself from danger; the Ring was on its right arm.

His Rock Breaker hit her a moment later, and he struck with such force; the ring he breaks with that one blow.

But he did not stop there.

It crashed into her defenses and tore them apart. His claws rent flesh where they touched it, and they'd have ground bones if she'd had them. It slammed into her stomach, and had he not held back its waist would have been severed with that blow. But instead its entire body was thrown, and it crashed into a tree behind it.

And the tree shuddered, and the truck cracked; a testament to those who saw it, a memorial of Guilmon's strength.

Palmon fell, from the tree to her knees, and from her knees to the ground; he'd flung her not just into the tree, but from the Realm of consciousness.

Guilmon took a deep breath through his nose, and stilled for just a moment to enjoy the scent. He exhaled through his mouth, and when the smoke wafted between his teeth, he enjoyed that, too.

He wasn't surprised when his Tamer frantically cut in.

"_Guilmon, behind you-"_

So it was a good thing the smoke coming from his mouth had nothing to do with what he'd exhaled.

"Fireball!"

The blast didn't quite blow away the trees trunk, but it ate most of the way through it. The cracks Palmon's body had put in it had probably helped.

Guilmon took several steps to the side as the tree began to fall towards him.

He wasn't surprised when it stopped mid-fall, nor was he surprised at the sudden yelp of surprised fear.

"_Oh. Never mind, then."_

He took a moment to drag the unconscious Palmon out from under the tree, before turning to his new target.

He didn't recognize it.

Luckily, he didn't have to.

"_Vegimon, Adult Virus Type. He has long ivy vines and a mouth that can open to a great size, so look out for those. And, uh, both of his attacks are disgusting, so don't let him attack at all."_

That wasn't going to be an issue, if this worked.

Guilmon placed one of his hands beneath the tree and the other on top of it.

"_Uh, Guilmon?"_

"Fireball!"

He blasted the Vegimon, who cried out in pain at the attack. But it couldn't do anything in return as both of its hands were busy.

Guilmon, on the other hand, didn't need his hands to attack.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" The blasts rained down on the Plant type Digimon, who was helpless to do anything but take it. And take it he did, again and again.

"_Guilmon?"_

Guilmon still didn't reply, focusing on nothing but his target. One more shot, maybe?

"Fireball!"

It hit, and served its purpose. Vegimon couldn't hold on anymore.

So he didn't. He let go of the tree.

But Guilmon didn't.

"_Holy- Guilmon!"_

His breath hissed out between his teeth, but he didn't budge. His muscles strained and he groaned under the weight, but even so, he lifted it. It was only a few inches, but it definitely moved upwards, and when it did, it stayed there.

He was lifting the tree.

No, that wasn't quite right.

He was _wielding_ the tree.

The Vegimon, who had fallen to the ground when its strength had given out, had closed its eyes in preparation for the inevitable. But when the tree had not fallen, it opened its eyes hesitantly.

And found something much worse.

Guilmon smiled. Or perhaps he was just baring his teeth.

And then he swung down with all his might.

**XxXXxX**

"Jesus." Takato whispered. "I think I created a monster. A really awesome monster, who I am now regretting not giving the ability to fly. Or guns. Or, better yet, laser beams. I hope one of his Evolutions has laser beams."

"_Takato, you're taking this somewhere weird."_

"Yeah, sorry; got distracted. Back on topic; Holy Crap! Could he do that yesterday?"

"_I don't think so. But then, he hadn't finished eating a thousand Digimon yesterday, either."_

Takato thought about that.

"So he's leveled up?"

"_He's gotten stronger at least. Besides the usual Digimon Evolution Levels, I don't think we'll be using the typical Level System in this game."_

"You don't think?"

"_I might change my mind."_

Takato shook his head; he should have expected that.

"But, well, I was surprised, but….this is good."

"_Yes, it is."_

"Guilmon's stronger now, and he'll only get stronger. That's how it works, right? The more he eats, the stronger he gets?"

"_That's kind of the idea, yes."_

"I know, I guess I just didn't think it would be to this scale."

"_I repeat; a thousand Digimon. Eaten. By Guilmon. Including a Digimon of a higher level. Now granted, all but one of them was at Baby II level-wise, but still, that adds up. If Guilmon had eaten only a few, there would have been little change. But he didn't, and he was also basically a new born. Don't expect drastic changes like this every time he loads something; if you want more jumps in power, you should have him eat either huge numbers or higher level Digimon."_

Takato smiled.

"Or both."

"_Or both."_

Takato fantasized about that for a minute before sighing. 

"Too bad the point of this mission involves freeing the enslaved Digimon and deleting them would be counterproductive. I guess that missions targeting the Digimon Kaiser aren't going to be very profitable, huh?"

"_Oh, I don't know, Takato; you might be surprised."_

Takato lifted an eyebrow at that.

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon winced as it lifted itself back upright, letting go of the tree in the process. Its arms hurt after that little stunt.

"_Careful, boy; don't wear yourself out. You never know what might happen."_

Guilmon didn't say anything in return, he just rolled his shoulders.

But his Tamer understood without him saying anything.

He was fine and good to go.

"_The sound of the tree's impact and those explosions of yours have attracted a bit of attention; the enslaved Digimon have moved around a bit. Most of them are moving _towards_ you, so either they're really brave or the Ring overcomes fear, caution, and weariness. Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing. So why don't we use it against them."_

Guilmon growl an agreement.

"_Make some noise, Guilmon. There's a pair of Alraumon about seven meters to your left and seventeen meters forward. If they keep moving they way they are, they'll go right past you. But why don't you go to them? Take them out quickly and as loudly as possible; they're Data Types, so it shouldn't be too hard for you. Let's see how smart these Slaves are."_

Guilmon didn't need to be told twice.

They probably never even saw him coming. In fact, they likely didn't see him at all. He'd circled around behind them and pounced on the left Alraumon like a cat on a mouse. He crushed her to the ground in an instant, showing no mercy at all for her being a slave. She cried out in surprised pain.

He smashed a Rock Breaker right into her face. It shut her up and knocked her out all at the same time. He held back enough not to kill her, but that was all; she'd feel that for a long time even after she was freed from the Kaiser's control.

The right Alraumon reacted, of course. She tried turning towards the source of the sudden noise.

Guilmon had expected that and had charged a Fireball in his mouth just for it. She didn't even get to turn far enough to see him before the blast took her full in the face.

The two Alraumon fell in as many seconds.

"_You know Guilmon, you should be nicer to girls or they won't like you."_

Guilmon just growled, playing his Tamers inane comment no mind. Instead, he listened. He'd made quite a bit of noise, but was it enough?

His Tamer answered his unspoken question before his senses did.

"_The enslaved Digimon have noticed the ruckus; the majority of them are now heading for your current location. Move to the left until you exit the clearing; it seems most of the Digimon in the forest have returned to the Tower. Whether they're weary of being ambushed in the trees or they're worried about the Tower, though, I don't know. But I'll guide you through it."_

Guilmon had started moving for the trees before Takato had finished his second sentence.

"_Move about five meters into the woods just to be safe. Then turn right and keep moving until I tell you to stop. I'll brief you on the situation while you move. Your initial attack scattered the majority of the slaves, and your attacks on the others afterwards have served to make things even worse. Nonetheless, the slaves quickly recovered and the majority moved to the areas of your attacks. A number of small groups, generally no greater then groups of three and no stronger then Child Level, have broken off from the others; I think in an attempt to lure you into a trap. A group of three wouldn't stop you, but I think they hope it'll slow you down enough for the nearby groups to gang up on you. I doubt it'd work, but I don't want to risk it this close to the finish line. So whatever you do, don't attack anyone unless I give you the order, okay?"_

Guilmon nodded silently, before realizing he didn't know if his Tamer could see it. He grunted an affirmative just in case.

"_Okay, stop and turn to your right. Keep going until I stop you. Anyway, like I said, most of the slaves went after you and are now off chasing ghosts. But the Kaiser apparently isn't stupid enough to leave his Tower completely undefended, and left some guards. Stop, turn right but don't move. See the Tower, boy? There are seven guards, but five of them are defending the direction they think we're attacking from. That's why I moved you behind them. The thing is those guards? They're called RedVegimon, which means every single one of them is an Adult Level Virus type. They're a stronger version of Vegimon and I don't like your odds against five of them, which is why you're attacking the direction only defended by two. Thing is? It probably won't take too long to move around the Tower, and as soon as they do, it's seven on one, with every other slave in the area on its way. Guilmon, this fight won't be won by punching the teeth out of everyone that gets in your way. The only way to win is to destroy that Tower as fast as possible. So here's the plan, and I want to apologize before we start because it's going to be hard on you."_

Guilmon didn't show any fear, he simply waited for the young boy to continue.

"_It's a simple plan, but it's still going to be hard. The first part is to disable, if only momentarily, the two guards. It doesn't have to be much; a Rock Breaker or a Fireball, just enough to keep them busy long enough to let you reach the Tower. And then it gets hard. Guilmon, I need you to ignore everything but the Tower after that point. I need you to pound on that Tower until it falls; I need you to hit it again and again and again with no regard for anything else. When the RedVegimon recover, they'll attack, and I need you to ignore them. Depending on how long it takes, the other guards might get there. I want you to take that Tower down before they do, but if you can't, I need you to ignore them, too. Can you do that, boy?"_

"I can do it, Takato." Guilmon said.

Takato was silent for a moment. Was he surprised to hear him speak after nothing but growls? Or was he silent because of what was about to happen?

"_Thanks, boy. Ready?"_

"Give the order."

"_Go."_

Guilmon blurred.

There were about ten meters between the edge of the forest and the Tower.

A flash of red covered it in less than a second.

The two RedVegimon didn't even realize they were in danger until Guilmon was only three meters away. They tried to turn towards their opponent. They tried to lift their club-like hands to attack.

They never got a chance to.

If someone else had been watching, all they would have seen nothing but the blur changing and zigzagging like a lightning bolt at the last second. First it went left, then right, and then it went back to the Tower.

And in the wake of seeing that, they would have noticed two RedVegimon being flung from their positions with great force. The crushing impact of the blur colliding with the Tower made it hard to tell, but someone observation might also have heard something.

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon said for the third time in as many seconds, slamming into the Tower. It cracked slightly near the base, but nothing more.

Guilmon was undeterred.

"Rock Breaker!"

The cracks grew. The Tower was hard, but Guilmon was sure he could bring it down with enough time.

Something wrapped around his left arm. Hard one of the RedVegimon already recovered?

Guilmon didn't know, because he didn't spare it a glance. He just dragged whatever it was along with him in his next attack.

"Rock Breaker!"

Something wrapped around his right arm as well.

He stepped forward against the strain.

"Rock Break-agh!" He was cut off mid-attack by a blow to the back. His instincts told him to fight. They told him to tear apart his attacker.

He ignored them as he did the blow.

"Rock Breaker." He repeated, this time successfully. Another blow connected with his hide, and he ignored it as he had the last.

"Rock Breaker!" He tried again. Just a little more-

Something was wrong. Something else had wrapped around his arm. Were the other guards here already? He was so close! Just a little bit more!

He took a step closer. Even against three Adults, he took a step.

"Rock-" A blow took him across the face, another plowed into his stomach, and a third slammed into the back of his head.

The other guards were definitely here.

But he had his orders.

"-Breaker!" He swung with his relatively free arm; the one bound only by one guard.

Only to have it bound in mid-attack. Things wrapped around his legs, as well, binding him in place.

But he'd half expected that to happen.

"Fireball!"

He'd chosen to use Rock Breaker, because for what it lacked in range, it made up for in close-quarters. Rock Breaker had a better chance of destroying the Tower then Fireball did.

But it was better than nothing and he had a plan.

The Fireball didn't make the Tower fall, but Guilmon hadn't really expected it to. It served its true purpose just fine, though.

Guilmon, the only one who knew what he was doing, had closed his eyes before the attack hit, and so wasn't staring straight into an explosion when it did.

The RedVegimon weren't so fortuitous.

It was just a momentary slackening, but it was enough to let him take a step forward.

"Rock-" The RedVegimon tightened their grip at the sound of his voice, but wasn't going to stop for anyone.

Not even seven Adults.

"-Breaker!"

He did it. Even against seven Adults, he did it. He managed to attack despite their attempts to hold him back. His blow splintered the surface of the Tower, the cracks spread across its length, and-

And it wasn't enough.

The Tower stood, even still.

Guilmon closed his eyes.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

Something wrapped around his neck, so tight it was strangling him.

But he managed to choke out a few words anyway.

"I am not done."

His eyes snapped back open.

"_Guilmon, Shinka!"_

**To Be Continued**

**XxXXxX**

I guess I should explain how Guilmon evolving was, well, possible within the area of a Dark Tower. It's actually quite simple; the Tamers use a card called Evolution Plug-in E to evolve. This cards effects are as follows:

**You can evolve your Rookie Digimon into an Armored or Champion Digimon **

**When you evolve, choose one of the Rookie Digimon listed in the Evolution Requirements box of the Digimon you want to evolve from your hand and send it to the Dark Area (you can't choose a Digimon with the same name as the one in your Digimon box) **

**Treat this as a Jogress Evolution **

**At the end of the phase in which this card is used, send it to the Dark Area. **

The important part is that thing about Jogress. It's important because this is the text of the Dark Tower card:

**Your opponent will be unable to evolve, except by using armor or jogress evolution. They will also be unable to ignore evolution requirements. **

**You must have this card in your Option Slot before the opponent is Ultimate or Mega, and if you have any other Field cards face up in your Option Slot, they must be sent to the Dark Area. **

**If this card is sent to the Dark Area, you immediately lose 20 points. **

Note that Armors and Jogresses specifically bypass it. It's not just Guilmon; if the other Tamers were there, they'd ignore it too. A benefit of having a more advance Digivice, perhaps? Or maybe the way their partners absorb and load Data? Who knows? But it sounded interesting to me, so I kept it. Also, it means Guilmon wouldn't have to walk Around at Child Level for the entire Kaiser Arc.

As for why he was able to evolve so much earlier in canon, well, he ate a legion of Baby II Digimon, downed it with their Adult Level guardian, and then spent most of the next day fighting while heavily out-numbered and under constant stress, as well as against higher level Digimon.


	3. Chapter 3: Wake Up Call Boss

Devil's Advocate

Chapter Three: Wakeup-Call Boss

The child known to the Digital World as the Digimon Kaiser slammed his fist on the table.

"What just happened! Wormmon!"

"Ken-chan?" The small Digimon crawled towards him.

It said a lot about how upset he was that he didn't even get upset at being called that.

"What the hell just happened!" He demanded, as if hearing someone else repeat it would make it more real.

"We lost a Dark Tower, Ken-chan." Wormmon said quietly. He was well aware that hearing that answer wouldn't please his partner. "One of our most protected Areas was lost."

Surprisingly, Ken didn't hit him. He just shouted.

"Not that!" Ken lifted a hand to point at a screen. "What is that!"

Wormmon looked at the screen.

"It's a Digimon, Ken-chan." Wormmon said carefully, wondering if this was a trick question. "An enemy Digimon."

On the screen was a figure that was hard to see, shrouded in smoke as he was. But he was not completely hidden. It was an enormous reptile, that was for sure, with a body that might have been red; standing amidst the flames, it was hard to tell, as they could be coloring him. Wormmon wasn't sure if it was naturally or a side-effect of the smoke and shadows, but he thought he saw some black markings as well.

The thing about the picture was, they had no idea how they'd gotten it. All of the cameras in the area had mysteriously been attacked by some kind of Virus immediately before the attack, leaving them basically blind. Even the camera that took this picture had been taken down.

But this camera had reactivated during the battle, though only for a moment. It had taken exactly one frame.

Wormmon had no idea why it had done that.

But Ken had an idea, and he'd been upset about it all evening.

It was mocking him.

They'd let him have this picture for the sole purpose of rubbing in their victory.

Because it was a victory, the picture made that obvious. The creature responsible was obscured, but almost everything else was visible. And it wasn't a pretty sight.

His Tower? Destroyed. Severed cleanly at the base, it was laid out at the creature's feet.

Its guardians? Crushed. They lied, beaten and broken, by the remains of the tower.

And his slaves? Released. All of them had been released. He could see them in the background, cheering. They were celebrating his defeat.

He kicked his desk.

"Damn it, Wormmon! I know it's an enemy! But who the hell is that Digimon!"

Wormmon quickly looked at the picture, hoping to find an answer that would placate his partner.

No such luck.

"I don't know." He told his Partner, sadly.

He half expected to be kicked as well, but Ken merely spun around and looked at him a bit madly.

"Then find out!"

The Kaiser turned to stalk away, only to be interrupted by a sound from a nearby computer.

He looked at it.

And then he nearly exploded in rage.

There was a message on it, a message obviously meant just for him. It had bypassed all of his defenses and had hacked into his personal computer, just to mock him.

_Like to play games, little boy?_

_Game on._

**XxXXxX**

"Guilmon, you should have seen yourself; you were awesome." Takato praised his partner as they walked.

Guilmon smiled at the praise. He had to admit, he was more than a little happy to have evolved.

"Seriously, you went from underdog to uber-dog in, like, five seconds. You curb-stomped those guards _and_ that Tower at the same time. And check it." Takato reached into his pocket and drew one of the rewards they'd received after the battle.

Evolution Plug-in E.

"This is proof that you can evolve. You're two days old, and you're an Adult."

Lucemon came into sight, and Takato picked up his pace to reach him faster.

"Lucemon! Did you see that? Tell me you saw that."

"I saw it." He said with a smile.

Takato pointed at his partner as Guilmon caught up.

"This is my partner Guilmon. He is a tank that walks like a man. Did you see his Exhaust Flame?"

"I told you I saw it."

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't blinded by that awesome explosion."

Lucemon chuckled.

"It's getting late, but I think we still have a bit of time left. Do you want to piss off the Chosen as well?" Lucemon asked.

"Sure, why not? Wait, are they in the Digital World right now?"

"No, I think they're busy gathering the other Chosen right now. Apparently their wildly different schedules are hard to reorganize on short notice. But it's been nearly a day; they'll probably be here soon."

Takato thought about that silently.

"I don't think we have enough time to depopulate an area today." He said after a minute.

Lucemon gestured dismissively.

"Nothing like that. Remember, the plan isn't mindless slaughter. Okay, the plan isn't _just_ mindless slaughter. It's to set the Kaiser and the Chosen against each other."

"Yeah, but how?" Takato saw his ally's face. "I take it you have an idea?"

"Have you forgotten already, Takato?" Lucemon asked. "…You got more than just an Evolution card out of today's work."

Takato blinked. He knew what he meant, but didn't understand what he was getting at.

Nonetheless, his hand moved to his pocket and drew out what lay within.

Another card.

He lifted it so that the image was facing Lucemon and lifted an eyebrow, silently asking if this was what he meant.

Lucemon's smile just widened.

"Why not try using it at the Pyocomon Village? I'm sure they'll find the results amusing. At the very least, I will."

Takato shook his head and chuckled.

"I'm glad this game doesn't have Morality Mechanic. If it did, just hanging out with you would put me pretty close to evil."

Nonetheless, he walked back towards the television that acted as his portal. He lifted his Digivice and opened the gate.

But he hesitated before entering, something bothering him.

"By the way…you said 'piss off the Chosen as well,' right?" He smiled, amused. "You really think the Kaiser is that upset?"

Lucemon tilted his head to the side in thought.

"Hm. About the Tower? He's probably not happy that you tore it down. But honestly? I think he's more upset with the picture I emailed him of his utter defeat."

"_What_?" Takato asked, startled.

Lucemon frowned.

"Or maybe it's the provoking and vaguely insulting message I sent. Whichever." His expression suddenly brightened. "Anyway, don't worry about that. Since I knew how eager you are to move the plan along, I'll go ahead and take this chance to send out a mass text to all the Chosen about the sudden erection of a giant phallic object in the Pyocomon Village, so you don't need to worry about that."

He shook his head.

"Honestly, Takato, insulting large numbers of people like this? Your balls probably drag on the floor when you walk. Now off with you." He gestured and the light of the portal consumed Takato.

But not before he got off one last remark.

"Y-y-you- Lucemon, you son of a-"

**XxXXxX**

"What's this about, Taichi?" Yamato asked, a bit gruffly. But it wasn't because he was upset or annoyed; in any other situation he'd have been happy to see his friends.

But this was different.

He'd spent a long time with them in the Digital World and Taichi was his best friend, so he knew when they were upset. And right now? They were really, really pissed off.

The only times he'd ever seen either of them like this was when something bad was happening in the-

Yamato stopped and took another look at his friend.

"Oh boy." He said. "How bad is it?"

Taichi smiled grimly.

"Guess where we were today?"

Yamato frowned.

"Taichi, if this is a bad you're face implies, I don't think this is a time for guessing games."

"We were in the Digital World." Sora cut in, replying before Taichi could say anything. He'd had a bad day. Well, so had she, but for all that they were best friends, Taichi and Yamato fought a lot, and now _really_ wasn't the time.

Yamato hissed out a breath. He'd thought so; nothing serious enough to make them look like that happened in the Real World.

"I see. Now how bad is it?" He repeated his question.

Sora was going to answer, but Taichi cut in before she could.

"Specifically, Pyocomon Village. You remember Pyocomon Village, right?"

Yamato blinked.

"Yeah, sure; the place Sora evolved Piyomon into Birdramon for the first time. What about it?"

"The Pyocomon are dead." Taichi stated bluntly. "All of them."

Yamato felt like he'd been slapped. He just looked at Taichi's face, half wishing for him to say it was a bad joke.

But no. Taichi had his serious face on; he wouldn't joke around while looking like that. Hell, even if he wasn't serious, Taichi wouldn't joke about something like this. He may be insensitive sometimes and a bit thickheaded, but he wasn't a complete asshole.

But he still couldn't believe it.

"No way. There were, like, a thousand Pyocomon in that Village!" Yamato said. "And it was _their_ Village. You'd need a pack of bloodhounds or something to just find them all!"

He would have continued, but he was really good at reading faces.

"Even so?" He asked.

Taichi nodded grimly.

"_Shit_." Yamato realized something. "Wait, how'd you know the Digital World was in danger? No, forget that; how'd you know the Gate was even open?"

"Mimi." Taichi said.

"She got a message from the Digital World. A cry for help." Sora elaborated.

Yamato furrowed his brow.

"Why would the Pyocomon call Mimi for help? Wait." His eyes widened.

He hadn't thought about it until this point, but the Pyocomon and Birdramon weren't the only things he remembered about that Village. How could he forget the reason for Birdramon's evolution?

"What happened to Meramon?" Yamato asked carefully.

Taichi caught his gaze and held it for a minute, before closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Yamato followed his example.

God damn it! He couldn't lie; he hadn't been close to Meramon or anything. But even so, the guy had fought with them against the Dark Masters, and that counted for something. And- Oh, God. Mimi.

If she'd gotten the message…and she'd been the one to find out that the Gate was open…and the message was a cry for help from Meramon, who he knew she was much closer to then he was…

His eyes snapped open.

"Was Mimi the first one to find the Village?" He demanded.

This time neither of them met his eyes.

He lifted a hand to cover his eyes.

"Oh, Mimi…Shit."

He looked back up at them.

"Did you take her to the Village of Beginnings?" He asked.

Taichi and Sora were silent. No, it was more like Sora was waiting for Taichi to say something, and Taichi wasn't going to talk.

"Guys?" He asked again, their silence unnerving him.

Sora looked at him for a moment before mustering up the will to speak.

"We took her there…but…"

"They're gone." Taichi cut her off.

Yamato frowned at his friend.

"What do you mean they're gone?"

"I mean, they aren't at the Village of Beginnings."

"As in, they were stolen or…" Yamato didn't like the other possibility.

"As in they were never there. As in, they died, and they stayed dead." Taichi looked away before forcing himself to meet his friend's eyes again. He choked out his next words through gritted teeth, as if he wanted to keep them locked inside but couldn't. "As in, they were murdered and they aren't coming back."

Yamato clinched his jaw so hard it hurt. His nails bit into his hands due to how hard he clinched them into fists. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, he just stood there and trembled in barely suppressed rage.

And then he spoke.

"Where are the others?"

Sora spoke up when it became obvious that Taichi wasn't going to. It was like he'd said all the words he had, and now he couldn't say anymore.

"Koushiro was with us when we went into the Digital World. He manned the Gate from here in the Real World, in case we got stuck inside, or something happened to us. We told him everything and he went into the Digital World. He's probably with Mimi by now. Jyou showed up awhile ago. We barely managed to keep him here long enough to tell him everything, because the moment he heard the words 'Mimi', 'Meramon', 'Pyocomon', and 'Dead' in the same sentence, he nearly dived into the Gateway head first. Then you showed up, so you're here, too. As for Hikari and Takeru-"

Taichi interrupted. His entire demeanor changed in an instant at the sound of his sister's name, and he went from exhausted to completely serious.

"Can you excuse us for a minute Sora?" He asked in a low voice.

Sora looked at her friend, startled.

"Ah! Yes, of course. I'll go join the others in the Digital World."

"We'll catch up." Taichi promised.

Sora left, glancing back at the two of them. Taichi and Yamato watched her leave. The Chosen of Friendship didn't say anything as she did; he knew what was going on, and he didn't want Sora to be involved in something that was strictly between the two of them.

Well, the two of them and their younger siblings.

The moment she was out of sight, Yamato turned towards his friend.

"Takeru's starting his first day at a new school tomorrow." He told his friend. It seemed random, but it was important to them.

"Hikari, too; same thing, same school."

Yamato hadn't known that, but honestly wasn't surprised by it either. Or maybe he just didn't care at this point; it wasn't important to the conversation.

"I'm not sure if I want to bring him in yet." He told his friend, mainly because his friend was looking at him expectantly.

They both knew this song and dance.

"Angemon is one of our strongest Digimon. Remember, oh, everyone he's ever fought? Angemon stood up to _Vamdemon _while he was kicking our partner's asses. Their perfect level asses." Taichi said, playing his part.

"True, but not the point. Takeru has a history with Digimon that do things like this; I'm not completely sure he'll be able to control his emotions. It could be dangerous. Not to mention the fact that whoever is doing this can apparently kill Digimon permanently; I'm sure that'd strike a bit too close to home."

"Are you sure that's not the overprotective big brother talking?" Taichi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh? And what about Hikari?"

"What about her?"

"You don't want her to come any more than I want Takeru to."

Taichi was silent for a minute, but then he nodded.

"You're right, I don't. Hikari is kind. Maybe too kind. I don't want to expose her to massacres and permanent death on what should be a happy day for her. And that absolutely is the overprotective big brother talking."

"Gatomon is one of our strongest Digimon; I trust I don't have to remind you of the fight we had against her while Vamdemon left for the Real World, right? Where she fought all of our partners, alone, and curb-stomped us? Even if she's not able to reach Perfect anymore, having her on our side could only be good."

Taichi stared at his friend impassively and replied.

"Correct on all counts."

They stared at each other silently. Yamato spoke first.

"I won't call in Hikari if you don't call in Takeru."

"Deal. At least until we know what's going on."

"Done."

"Then let's go."

They didn't even manage to take five steps before they were interrupted by their phones ringing.

They exchanged frowns and drew their phones in unison.

"Did you get a message?" Taichi asked.

"Yeah."

"Does yours say who it's from?"

"No. Yours?"

"No. Probably from the same person, though."

"Open it."

They did.

And then they frowned.

"What the hell…?"

_I just wanted to inform you all that you're totally my bitches forever. In order to remind you of that constantly, I took the liberties of erecting a monument to your complete and utter failure to keep me from destroying Pyocomon Village. Take consolation in the fact that you never would have had a chance even if you had been there._

_But nonetheless, I am bored. So why don't you try and stop me? How about it…eight against one?_

"Pyocomon Village…" Yamato repeated. "This is the guy who destroyed it?"

"That's what it says."

"He's an asshole. I mean, we knew that, but even putting aside the mass murderer aspect, this guy's a douche. I've read one message from him and I'm sick of him."

Taichi looked at his friend.

"Me, too. Let's go kick his ass."

**XxXXxX**

"What do you think, Guilmon? Is this a good spot?" Takato asked his partner.

Guilmon looked around. He didn't see how this area was any different from any of the other areas.

"I guess so, Takato."

Takato smiled and nodded. He didn't really care where they put, but he was trying to get his partner to speak up more and make decisions.

Regardless, he pulled out the card.

"Get ready then, Guilmon, because here we go. Card Slash! Dark Tower, Activate!"

Guilmon's yellow eyes flashed red for a moment. He snarled, feral, and leaned back.

Takato clasped his hands over his ears as Guilmon roared. It was a sound far too loud for Guilmon's body to make, but apparently nobody told _him_ that. The cry resounded in Takato's ears and skull, and, oh God, it hurt.

But he kept his eyes open anyway, entanced by the sight before him.

Guilmon's markings pulsated red, like a strange, alien heart beat, once, twice, and then his claws caught fire. Takato immediately became worried, because randomly catching fire was bad as far as he was concerned, but he didn't have time to do anything about it, because Guilmon acted first.

As his cry reached its crescendo, he slammed his flame-adorned claws into the Earth. By then the noise was so loud that Takato wasn't sure whether he was shaking or the ground was, but after his partner struck it, he knew.

It was the ground. It was definitely the ground.

Cracks spread from Guilmon' claws and beneath them the ground twisted and writhed, as though some great beast was attempting to struggle out of it. Takato was quickly thrown from his feet by the buckling earth, and he immediately curled into a ball to protect his head.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but he was aware when it came to a stop. He stayed as he was for a few moments before uncurling and rising to his feet. He gave himself a quick once over. His ears were still ringing, but otherwise he seemed fine. There wasn't even dirt on his clothing.

He looked for his partner next and sighed in relief to find him in the same position he'd last seen him in.

Only to yelp as the ground buckled again.

But this time it was different.

This time, it was accompanied by a loud cracking. Takato spun, and nearly fell over for doing so on unsteady ground.

But what he saw shocked him.

Something, a Dark Tower, was emerging from the ground. At the moment, only about three feet of it was above ground, but-

The ground shook again and several more feet emerged.

-More of it was sure to follow.

Takato laughed.

"This is so cool."

**XxXXxX**

"So this is what a Dark Tower looks like up close, huh?" Takato said, slowly walking around it. "Did the one you saw look like this, Guilmon?"

"Yeah." Guilmon said, resting for a bit in the new found shade of the new structure. "The one I broke looked just like this."

"_What are you looking at? It's basically a black block with a pointed tip. Its surfaces are completely flat; there's really nothing to see."_

"Well hello to you too, Lucemon." Takato said, his mood souring, partially because he was still annoyed with Lucemon and partially because Lucemon was right and he was being nerdy over a simple structure and he'd only just realized that.

"_Oh, you're not still upset about that are you?"_

"And what if I am?"

"_Then I have good news that will cheer you up!"_

Takato honestly wasn't completely sure how to feel about that; it'd only been two days, but he'd learned that Lucemon being cheerful was always bad for _someone_. It might not be him and Guilmon, but then again, maybe it would.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"_Well, I sent off the messages taunting the Chosen Children, and told them all about that phallic object you've been experiencing perverse sexual lust over."_

Takato put his head in his hands and sighed. He should have seen that one coming, he really should have.

"And?"

"_And they're on their way right now!"_

"…I see. And that's a good thing…how exactly?" Takato asked. "In case you've forgotten…we're avoiding them. We don't want them to see us."

"_Well, that's true I suppose. But think; this is a wonderful opportunity! It may not have been in the plan, but they're coming to Pyocomon Village…which has a Dark Tower in it…"_

Takato caught on.

"Which would keep them from evolving, but not us." He finished.

"_Exactly."_

"But don't we want them and the Kaiser to destroy each other?"

"_Well, that was the original plan. But then Guilmon evolved on his second day of life and you got a Dark Tower card. The odds of you succeeding in a fight that was eight Adults against one Child were…slim to none. On the other hand, one Adult versus several Child Levels…"_

"Better odds." Takato noted. "A lot better."

"_Exactly. Now, I'm not saying throw the plan out the window one day into it, but let's see what the competition is like. Have Growmon take a shot at them. Just one shot. Stay out of sight and out of range, and have him hit them with an Exhaust Flame. You can even wait right by the portal and bail right after the attack. Let's just see if they're even worth the effort of the plan."_

Takato liked the sound of that, he really did. But he wasn't completely stupid; this was Lucemon he was talking about. There was more to it then there seemed, he was sure of that.

"Yeah, that sounds nice. But why do you really want me to do this?"

Takato heard a sigh on the other end of the communications.

"_The number of Chosen Children was decided at random. As such, not all of them showed up; you lucked out and the two that were really dangerous stayed behind. Well, that's the out of game reason. In game, the two that stayed behind were too young to have cell phones and their older siblings were overprotective."_

Takato thought about that.

"So, wait. You want me to show them that I'm a big enough threat that they need to pull out the big guns from the very beginning?"

"_You're looking at it wrong; these two are the strongest, sure…but that just means they're the biggest problems. Would you rather deal with them now or later? And take my word for it; they'll become even bigger problems if you leave them for later."_

Takato was a bit reluctant to go along with a plan purposed by Lucemon, because he was sure he'd twist anything he did in such a way as to make the game more 'exciting', but he had to admit Lucemon had a point; big problems should be dealt with as quickly as possible, or else they'll bite you in the ass later.

"What do you purpose?"

"_There's a group of three heading towards you right now; the other three are trailing behind them because they were further away. In the group that will reach you first, there are two people of importance; their names are Taichi and Yamato, and they are the older siblings of the two left behind."_

Takato frowned.

"Hikari and Takeru?"

"_Yeah. Thing is, they're leaving their younger siblings behind because they're worried about them. They didn't even tell them anything was wrong. Let's say we do our part to promote family togetherness, and help bring the truth to light?"_

Takato's lips twitched.

"Oh?"

"_Do something they can't hide. You can injure them in an obvious way or even just burn their clothes. Just do something that can't be easily hidden. They'll have to go home eventually, and when they do, bam! Caught red-handed. Yamato lives apart from his brother, so make Taichi the priority target."_

"Got it. What do you think we should do?"

Lucemon was silent for a moment, apparently contemplating something.

"_Well, we could always start by inquiring about the state of their prostitute mothers."_

Takato snorted.

"Never mind, Lucemon; I'll handle it."

**XxXXxX**

"Where are the others? Shouldn't they be here by now?" Yamato asked. He and Sora were standing by a tree, as they had been for the last ten minutes. Taichi had climbed the tree in question and was checking out the area with his mini-telescope.

Yamato felt a bit melancholic at the sight. It brought back old memories.

They were near the base of what had once been Meramon's mountain. Yamato wondered if Taichi could even see anything important in the Village from here, but since this was an obvious trap if he'd ever seen one, he didn't complain about taking precautions.

Why were they even here if they knew it was a trap? Quite simple, really; whoever they were fighting held all the cards. They knew nothing about him or her, whereas he obviously knew, at the very least their cell phone numbers. Based on that, it seemed likely that he also knew their names and probably, at the very least, basic information about them like age, gender, and appearance. Especially since he could get all of the latter information in the Digital World.

This was supported by the fact that he targeted them specifically; he most likely knew that they were the Chosen Children. Which meant that probably also knew the identities of their partners.

All of which added up to way, way more information than they had on him.

It also meant they were at an extreme disadvantage.

Worst case scenario, whoever was doing this had a way into the Real World like Vamdemon did. If so, and if he managed to discover their addresses…

It could end badly. Yamato didn't like the thought of someone willing to kill a thousand Baby level Digimon knowing where his dad lived.

But even the best case scenario wasn't good. Even if he or she was stuck in the Digital World, he was still a mass murderer that they knew nothing about. If they ignored him, he could just go off and kill more Digimon, and they'd never know where he was going to strike next. They'd never be able to stop him unless he just happened to stumble across an area they were in.

And not only would that probably take a long time, it would likely involve a lot more Digimon dying before it happened. Hell, _if_ it happened at all.

They knew nothing of his strength or his plans, except that they obviously involved massacring Pyocomon Village. So, honestly, it was either walk into the obvious trap or do nothing, where nothing would probably involve more Digimon dying.

That didn't mean they had to be stupid about it though.

"They're a bit late, since they are coming from the Village of Beginnings." Sora said. "But they'll hang back a bit even when they get here. The three of us will go in first once Taichi finishes scanning the area, and they'll come in if anything happens."

He frowned at her, wondering how she knew that.

"I sent them a message while the two of you were talking." She explained.

"Ah, I see. Hey, Taichi, you done up there?" Yamato asked.

Taichi swung down from where he was sitting in the tree.

"Yeah."

"What'd you see?"

Taichi sighed.

"Not much, just a big, black tower in the Village. I think that's the monument the message talked about. Whoever's out there is probably near the Tower. Probably waiting to spring a trap on us once we go near it."

"Then what's the plan?" Sora asked.

"We sneak in and attack him instead."

Yamato frowned, noticing the obvious problem.

"Greymon, Garurumon, and Birdramon don't sneak; they're a giant dinosaur, a giant wolf, and a giant bird."

Taichi nodded.

"Yeah, so we'll have to go in with them at Child level."

Sora looked at her friend.

"I don't know if that's a good idea…"

"We'll evolve them when we get there, but there's no way we can surprise him otherwise. If he sees us coming, he could just move to avoid us."

"Or run." Yamato pointed out. "Or sneak up on us instead; we don't know what this guy looks like or can do; he could be small or be able to turn invisible. Or both like Piccolomon."

"Exactly." Taichi nodded.

Sora didn't look convinced.

"But what if he notices you and takes you out before you evolve?" She questioned.

Their leader had already thought of that.

"I want you and Birdramon to stay here; if something goes wrong, come in and rescue us."

She looked like she was about to argue about being left behind, but then seemed to decide against it.

Probably just realized she was given the safest part of the plan.

Taichi turned to his friend.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Then let's go. We shouldn't keep our host waiting after he went through the trouble of sending us an invitation."

**XxXXxX**

Takato sat by the gateway with his partner. Guilmon was in his Child form, simply because he was easier to hide that way, and they were laying a trap.

Takato was looking at his Digivice. The Chosen had already entered its range, though they weren't within comfortable distance of Growmon's Exhaust Flame. There were only two of them, but Lucemon had said they'd arrived as a group of three and that more were on the way. As such, at least one was waiting in the wings, and possibly more.

They were being careful.

Then he would be, too.

"Guilmon, let's go." He said, standing up.

"Okay, Takato." His partner replied, moving away from the wall he'd been looking at. He'd probably also been the one to break it in the first place, but it didn't stand out in Takato's memories; Guilmon had broken a lot of walls yesterday.

Takato pulled out his card and quickly swept it through his Digivice.

"Evolution Plug-in E, Activate!"

"Guilmon, shinka!"

Takato took a minute to admire his partner as he changed. He was a lot like Guilmon in general sense, much like birds were a lot like velociraptors; same general shape, vastly different results.

He was bigger, much, much bigger. He went from being around his Tamers size to towering over him. Guilmon's claws grew immensely and he added another one to his feet. He grew strange, blade-like extensions on each of his arms, gained more black markings on his body, and also gained a head of white hair.

Interestingly, that symbol, the Hazard, went from being located only on his chest to also being located on his shoulders.

"Growmon!"

Takato smirked.

"Looking good, boy. Help me up." He lifted his arms, silently asking to be carried as he said those last words.

Growmon obliged him, lifting his entire body with one powerful hand. Takato glance at his Digivice to get a general direction and then scanned it with his eyes.

He saw something after a few moments of searching and smiled.

"Hey, Growmon, look over there." He said, pointing. "See anything interesting?"

His partner looked and nodded.

"Two humans and two Digimon."

Takato blinked, slightly surprised, but then his smirk widened.

"You have better eyes then I do, boy." He lifted his Digivice again and press a few buttons. A new screen came up, and he found himself looking through his partner's eyes.

His partner did indeed have better eyes then him. Whereas he'd only spotted vague signs of movement, and only because his Digivice had told him where to look, his partner had good enough eyes to let him see the faces of the ones coming towards them.

The one on the left was a tall blonde with a Gabumon. The one on the right was a brunette with a strange hairstyle and an Agumon.

Ishida Yamato and Yagami Taichi.

"See the one on the right? That's an Agumon next to him. Do you want to know something about Agumon?" He asked.

Growmon tilted his head, and Takato took that as a yes.

"He's like your father, in a way. I took him…and I made him better in every way…and the result was you, boy. Do me a favor?"

The beast nodded.

"Show them what a good job I've done."

Held in his hand as he was, Takato felt as much as heard his partner's rumbling growl.

He was laughing.

And then, he threw him head back and inhaled as deeply as he could, before snapping his head back to where it was and letting loose with the most impressive blast Takato had ever seen.

"Exhaust Flame!"

The blast of fire was enormous. It was wider then he was tall and then some, and if fired vertically, it would have been like a pillar into the heavens.

Fired horizontally, it was more like the hammer of devastation. The broken houses of the Pyocomon were leveled if they were unfortunate enough to get in the way and some caught fire even though they weren't.

Takato had to cover his eyes and look away. He was sweating in the heat even though the attack had been aimed away from him, but even so, he smirked.

"That's my boy."

**XxXXxX**

"Hey, Yamato, do you see something over there?" Taichi asked, frowning.

His friend obliged him by looking.

"Something red?"

"Yeah."

Yamato squinted.

"It looks pretty big." He noted.

"I was just thinking that. What do you think it is? I'm betting it's a Digimon."

"No bet. It's in the Village."

"Yeah."

"The Village where our enemy is waiting."

"Yeah."

"Waiting to be surprised, hopefully."

"Uh-huh."

They both looked at the…whatever it was.

Taichi spoke first, sounding worried.

"He doesn't look surprised."

"No, he does not."

They looked at each other.

"Well, shit. There goes that plan, huh?" Taichi said, forcing himself to try to sound cheerful. "Guess we'll just have to use plan B. Agumon, time to evolve."

Silence.

"Agumon?"

"It's not working, Taichi." His partner said, looking at him worriedly.

The leader of the Chosen bit his lip worriedly. He glanced at his friend, silently asking him to try making Gabumon evolve. He hoped it was just Agumon; maybe he'd forgotten to eat something? That possibility wouldn't have been good by any means, but having one Adult and one Child was head and shoulders better then both of them being stuck at Child Level.

"Gabumon, give it all you've got." Yamato egged on his partner.

"…Nothing." Gabumon said after a minute.

"Oh. Um…that's not good." Taichi said.

Yamato's eyes widened suddenly, and he pointed frantically.

"But that's worse! Move it or lose it, guys!"

It happened quite suddenly and, as was to be expected from people that found themselves targeted by huge blasts of fire coming out of absolutely nowhere, they were taken by surprise. Thanks to Yamato's warning, they weren't completely flatfooted, but that still meant they only had a second to prepare for a sudden, high-powered assault.

It was better than nothing, though, and it kept them from being instantly fried.

That was not to say they weathered the blast unscathed, however.

Thanks to some quick foot work, they all avoided a direct hit, and instead plowed into the ground right next to them. Taichi, who stood literally feet from the point of impact, suffered the worst of it. In the resulting explosion, all of them ended up being thrown away by the blast, but Taichi in particular felt like he was hit by a literal wall of force.

After that…he honestly wasn't sure what happened. He might have blacked out for a second, but the next thing he knew, was looking at the sky, his head was pounding, and his everything hurt

"-Chi!"

Oh, that was Yamato. He sounded pretty frantic. He should probably go see what he wanted.

He tried sitting up and immediately regretted it. His world seemed to spin and he felt nauseous. He nearly fell back down.

He felt someone grab him by the arms and start to drag him, and he forced himself to get up as he remembered what was going on.

"Taichi! Thank God! Come on, you're hurt and we need to go! I don't know how bad you're hurt, but Sora's coming. See? She's right- Oh, God, Sora!"

Was something wrong with Sora?

Taichi looked.

She was above him. Far above him. And falling pretty fast. Piyomon had her, and was doing her best to slow her fall, but it was obvious to anyone looking that it was a losing battle.

Suddenly, what that meant hit him. Sora was falling. And from that height, if Piyomon's strength failed, she could get seriously hurt.

Or worse.

Adrenaline surged and pain faded. Everything came into sudden focus, and Taichi nearly trembled with barely restrained energy.

He had to do something.

So he did the only thing he could think of. The only thing that made sense.

"Come on!" He grabbed Yamato roughly and pulled him along, running as fast as he could.

He ran for his friend.

The mission had failed. They hadn't known enough about the enemy, and he'd obviously had some trump cards. They almost certainly couldn't win with three Child Levels. And though it pained him, the only real option was to retreat.

But more importantly then any of that, he needed to save his friend.

"Hold on for just a minute, Piyomon! We're coming!"

**XxXXxX**

"Aw." Takato tried to scowl, but in the end, it actually looked more like a pout. "We missed."

Growmon snorted out a stream of smoke. Takato took that to mean he was also annoyed.

"We should probably fall back at this point; it didn't work and now they're moving out of range. But…I dislike running. I mean, look at them! They're on the ropes! They're running away, their Digimon are stuck at Child level; if we were over there, we could take them out right now! It seems a shame to run at this point, don't you think?"

Growmon snarled.

"We could crush them now; they're no threat. Put an end to this." He offered. His voice sounded different then it had as Guilmon; probably a result of his increased size and the addition of all those big teeth.

"It'd be a little anti-climactic, sure, but why wait, right? I mean, look at them, running for-" Takato frowned. "Where _are_ they running?"

They were moving away from the Village (and thus them as well), but not in a straight line. They were moving at an angle.

Why? You'd think they'd be in a hurry to get away.

"Growmon, where are they going? Do you see anything in that direction?"

His partner looked and immediately offered a reply.

"Sand?"

Takato laughed.

"Since they're surrounded by it, that's probably not what they're running for. Anything else?"

Growmon's face twisted in a way Takato probably would have found horrifying if he wasn't his Tamer. He interpreted it as a frown.

"Nothing. Just- wait. What's that?"

Takato also frowned, looking at his Digivice and the image it displayed.

"I see it, boy. It looks like a handbag. What's a handbag doing in the middle of the desert?"

"Maybe someone dropped it?" Growmon suggested.

Takato's frown deepened.

"That's pretty far off from the direction they came from. No, I don't think so. Maybe it got blown there by your attack, boy?" Takato said, but didn't sound convinced. Why the hell would they be running for a bag right now? This was a life or death situation, at least for them. Shouldn't they be more worried about their lives? The bag in question wasn't even the type he'd expect either Taichi or Yamato to carry. It looked a bit girly, honestly.

He blinked at that thought.

"Wait. Growmon, look back at the Chosen."

His partner obeyed without question, and Takato stared silently at the image his Digivice displayed. He pursed his lips at what he saw.

"They are not looking at that bag. In fact, they're looking…up?"

Takato nearly smacked himself. Of course! The other Chosen that had stayed behind. They were heading towards them, and apparently they could fly.

"Growmon, search the skies! There's someone else out there, and it's probably an enemy."

It took mere seconds for Growmon to find them, but what he saw surprised his Tamer.

"What the hell…? What's going on over there?" He wondered, confused.

He shook himself. It didn't really matter, did it?

What mattered was who that was and what this meant.

"I know who that is, boy. Her name's Sora; she's the love interest of those two. They're trying to save her. How sweet! Will love blossom and conquer all? Will the power of two hearts save the day?" He wondered, cheerfully.

He turned to his partner, good cheer replaced by a smirk.

"Not in _my_ game. Blow her out of the sky, boy!"

**XxXXxX**

Taichi was almost there; he could save her, he knew he could.

He wouldn't let himself believe otherwise.

Piyomon was holding her partner as best she could, and if she could just keep it up for a little while longer, then they should be able to work something out. If he could catch her-

And then everything changed.

A blast of fire, much like the one that nearly hit them, plowed into Sora and Piyomon. It detonated in an explosion that deafened him for a moment, and even from the ground he could feel the force involved.

But that wasn't all.

Taichi watched as the blast hit them full on. He saw it all as if it was in slow motion. As if some sick god had slowed down this nightmare just for him.

To let him watch her fall.

"Sora!" Taichi screamed, his voice ragged with terror and dread.

"Damn it, Sora! Shit!" Yamato shared his feelings.

But Taichi didn't care about any of that. He was busy running, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could make in time. He ran so hard, his lungs burnt and his legs felt like they were on fire.

He didn't. He almost made it; he was only a few feet away when she hit the ground.

But almost wasn't good enough.

"Sora!" He shouted again, agonized, as if he had been the one to fall. He was at her side a second later.

He tried to see how hurt she was, but his sum-total knowledge of medicine only told him one thing.

She was alive.

He tried to feel relieved, but he wasn't; he was no doctor. He had no idea whether or not her life was in danger.

But she was alive. If only for the moment, she was alive.

"Taichi, come on! I've got Piyomon, you get Sora, and let's get out of here!" He heard Yamato order.

"Is it safe to move her!" He shouted back.

"I don't know! But is it safe to leave her here with a whatever that thing is shooting at us?"

"Shit!" Taichi swore. "Have Gabumon and Agumon get Piyomon; help me with Sora. We need to get her to Jyou as fast as possible; I don't know if she's in danger or not."

Yamato was by his side a moment later. He took Sora by the legs while Taichi carried her by her arms.

"Nothing looks broken, I don't think." Yamato said as they ran. Or ran as best they could while carrying Sora. "She doesn't look too bad; Piyomon looked a lot worse. I think she dropped Sora before the blast connected and took most of the damage."

"That was still a bad fall." Taichi said grimly.

"Yeah, but Piyomon slowed her down as much as she could. And she fell on sand, so it's not as bad as it could be." Yamato told him; tried to assure him.

Taichi grit his teeth.

"Sora will make it. She has to make it." He didn't know what he'd do if one of his friends died while trying to save him.

Speaking of which.

Taichi glanced back over his shoulder, looking at the Village.

"That _bastard_." He hissed. "He could have _killed_ her."

"I think that was the idea, Taichi." Yamato said, stating the obvious.

The only thing that kept him from clenching his hands into fists was the fear of hurting Sora.

He glared at the Village and the black spire that stood within. He'd been angered earlier, when he read the message he'd been sent, and he was even angrier now.

Because what the message had said was true.

It was like a monument to their defeat.

They'd lost this battle. Completely.

It was an utter defeat.

But all things change with time.

"We'll be back." Taichi promised. "We've torn down mountains; we'll tear down your little Tower, too."

**XxXXxX**

"Yeah, I love you too." Takato said, looking through Growmon's eyes.

He couldn't actually hear anything through it, but he could see faces just fine.

And boy, oh, boy, Taichi looked pissed.

Takato might have been worried if he wasn't a video game character.

Besides, it didn't matter.

At this point, no matter how angry he was, the only thing he had to go off of was the Dark Tower, which belonged to the Kaiser. Short of screwing up, Takato was fairly safe at this point.

Speaking of safe…

"You must be tired, boy. Your second day in this world and you spent most of it fighting. I even made you evolve twice. Let's go rest, huh?"

Growmon reverted to Guilmon in a blaze of light.

But when it faded, Takato was surprised to see Guilmon looking sad.

"You're leaving again Takato?" He asked.

Takato wasn't sure what to say to that. The answer was yes, of course, but looking at his partner, that wasn't what he wanted to say.

"I'm sorry, Guilmon. But I have to. My parents will get upset if I stay on all night."

"You'll come back, right?"

Takato knelt by his partner's side.

"I'll always come back, Guilmon." He promised.

"Really?" Guilmon asked.

He smiled.

"Really. I'll be back tomorrow, I swear I will. And…we'll have fun, won't we, boy?"

Guilmon's expression brightened.

"Yeah! We'll have lots of fun everyday!"

"Yeah; I'll take you to see lots of cool places in this World Lucemon built. And then we'll meet lots of cool Digimon. And then you can eat them, if you want." He patted his partner on the head. "And no matter what happens, I'll always come back. Shall we go, Guilmon?"

**XxXXxX**


	4. Chapter 4: Game Changers

Devil's Advocate

Chapter Four: Game Changers

Jyou approached his leader. His news wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't going to make Taichi any happier than it had made him.

"Well, she's not in danger of dying." He said, before hesitating for a second. "…But it's not good. Sora took a pretty bad fall, and I did what I could, but I'm not a professional. I asked the others to see if they could find any Digimon with healing abilities, so all we can really do now is hope for the best."

"…Okay." Taichi said, not even looking at him.

Ever the responsible one, Jyou had to ask.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take her to a hospital?"

"And tell them what? That she fell out of the sky after being shot by a Digimon? How do we explain this?" Taichi asked, partially to his friend and partially to himself.

"We could make something up." Jyou said. "It wouldn't be too hard to convince them that she fell, since she, you know, did. We'll just lie about _how_ she fell."

Taichi sighed.

"I know. But I still think it's safer to keep her here; if there's any Digimon with healing abilities, they'll be able to do more for her here than a Hospital. Since she's not in any danger of dying, I think it's better to wait and see if there's anyone that can help her in this World."

Jyou nodded.

"Besides," Taichi continued. "I'm more worried about Piyomon."

Jyou took that as a sign to talk, so he did.

No matter how much he didn't want to.

"It's not good. I'm surprised she's alive at all; she's heavily burnt and suffered a fall that was at least as bad as Sora's. Chances are it was worse. For her sake, I hope there's someone that can heal on this Island, because otherwise, she'll be out of commission for a long time."

Taichi sighed. He hadn't expected it to be good; he'd seen Piyomon. However, he'd hoped it wouldn't be this bad.

"Jyou, can you tell me anything about whatever did this?" Taichi asked. He already had a general idea, but he wanted a second opinion.

"Well, it obviously uses fire as a weapon and from what you said it can do so at a long distance. Based on that, and on how much damage was done to Piyomon despite that distance, I'd say it's very strong; it could be a Perfect, or maybe a very strong Adult."

Taichi nodded; he'd some to the same conclusion.

"In either case, it doesn't look good for us." Taichi said grimly.

"We can't reach Perfect anymore." Jyou agreed. "If we could, this wouldn't be a problem."

"It's worse than that." Taichi said. "We might not even be able to reach Adult."

"…What?"

"Did Yamato tell you? We couldn't evolve our partners. And when Sora tried to fly to the rescue on Birdramon, she reverted to Piyomon when she got close."

"…That is not good."

"I'm aware."

They were both silent for a few seconds, before being interrupted.

"Taichi!"

The two Chosen on the ground glance up immediately. Koushiro was in the air being carried by Kabuterimon.

Taichi frowned.

"Koushiro! I thought I told you not to evolve Tentomon yet! We don't know what's shutting down evolution yet; you want to fall out of the sky, too!"

"That's just it, Taichi! I know what's causing it!" Koushiro said brightly as he and his partner landed.

Taichi lifted an eyebrow at that. He shouldn't have been surprised that Koushiro figured it out first, but he was anyway.

"Oh?"

"And not just that; I found something, too! Come on!" He gestured Taichi towards Kabuterimon.

"Keep an eye on Sora while I'm gone, Jyou." Taichi said, following.

Jyou snorted.

"Like you had to tell me that."

Taichi smiled at his friend.

"Let's go, Koushiro; show me what you've got."

**XxXXxX**

"It's the Towers." Koushiro said once they were airborne.

"The black ones?" Taichi asked, pretty sure he understood.

There had been one at the Pyocomon Village, after all.

"Yeah; they somehow mess with our ability to evolve. I tested it and everything."

"Tested…?"

"I had Kabuterimon enter an area containing a Tower and he reverted to Tentomon. I then evolved him again and had him fly a path free of Towers and he was just fine." Koushiro explained.

Taichi pursed his lips.

"Can you figure out the exact radius of one of those Towers?"

"Already done. I even put it on a map. It's on my computer; I'll show you when we land."

Taichi nodded thoughtfully.

"After the others are done looking for people to help Sora, I'll send them back out to see if they can find anymore Towers." Taichi said before shaking his head. "If Piyomon wasn't so badly hurt, she'd be really good for a mission like this since she can fly. I'll have to rely on you for that in her absence Koushiro; you up for it?"

"No problem, Taichi. However…"

"I know; Takeru will be able to help with that. I'll call him and Hikari in soon."

"Good, because we'll need all the help we can get; knowing the radius of those Towers doesn't change the fact that we still can't get past Child within that radius."

Taichi nodded grimly; it didn't look good.

He tried to change the subject.

"What was it you wanted to show me, Koushiro?"

"That's just the thing; I don't know. It's showing up on my Digivice, but it's within the Radius of a Tower, so I thought it would be a good idea to get some backup before rushing in."

"Good move, Koushiro; discretion is the better part of Valor, especially since we're essentially defanged until we figure out how to do something about those Towers."

They lapsed into silence, the knowledge that they were about to enter an area that would strip away most of their combat potential shifting them into a more serious mindset.

They landed a few minutes later, for no apparent reason.

Taichi looked at his friend and lifted an eyebrow in silent question.

"We're close to the border of the Tower's effects; any further and Kabuterimon would devolve with us on him and we'd both develop even more empathy for Sora."

Taichi winced.

"Ouch. Good call, man. Do you know the way from here?"

His friend nodded.

"You can pick up the signal about fifty feet into the area; I found it while getting a look at the Tower."

Taichi's head snapped towards Koushiro.

"You went fifty feet into the area alone?" He demanded.

Koushiro lifted his hands to placate his friend and leader.

"Before I know about the Towers or their effects." He explained. "I was looking for Tentomon at the time; he said he'd meet me around that area."

Said leader frowned, but nodded without comment.

Instead, he looked forward. He couldn't see it, but he knew there was an invisible line in front of him.

And once he'd crossed it, he was powerless.

But he was going to cross it anyway, he knew. Because if it was showing up on their Digivices, then it was probably important.

If not to them, then to their enemies.

So he stepped forward despite everything.

As the Leader of the Chosen.

As the Chosen of Courage.

"Shall we go, Koushiro?" He asked, showing no fear.

The Chosen of Knowledge nodded.

Taichi was still able to lead.

So, if nothing else, he could still follow.

"Yeah, let's go."

**XxXXxX**

In another place…

In another world…

Two old friends talked. They spoke of times gone by, of places they'd departed, of friends they left behind.

But mostly, they spoke of days they'd dreamed of.

Of days that were like dreams.

But as with all dreams, they were eventually distracted by more worldly concerns.

"Takeru, have you talked to Yamato lately?" Hikari asked.

"My brother?" Takeru asked, a bit confused by the sudden change in topic. "Yeah, we talk every once in awhile. Why?"

"My brother didn't come home last night; I'm beginning to get worried. I went to sleep figuring he'd be home by morning, but…"

Takeru frowned.

"Well, it's not like we aren't used to surviving alone, huh?" He said, trying to assure her. "I'm sure he's okay. He's probably just staying over at a friend's house."

"That's what I thought, too." Hikari agreed. "I just figured that if anyone knew where he was, it'd probably be either Yamato or Sora. I figured I'd call them later if he wasn't back by the time I got home, but since you're here anyway…"

Takeru shook his head.

"I haven't spoken to my brother in the last few days, so I haven't heard anything. But I can give him a call when I get a chance if you'd like." He offered.

"Thanks; please do." She said with a smile.

They'd been torn from their dreams by Reality…

But where exactly did Dreams begin and Reality end?

They had no idea what was waiting for them.

But they were used to such things.

**XxXXxX**

They stopped as they came to the entrance of a cave.

So far they hadn't had any problems, but they were both aware of how quickly that could change.

Point of fact, that was why they stopped.

"A cave." Taichi cursed.

"Yeah. Not much space to move, relatively little air, lack of light, created light will make shadows that'll make combat even harder, there's nowhere to run, if things get bad, the entire cave could collapse, and, oh yeah, we have no idea what's down there." Koushiro listed.

They looked at each other and sighed.

"Let's go." Taichi said, stepping forward.

"Okay. But just so you know, if I was this bad guy? I'd send down a Digimon with a lot of firepower, like the one that was at the Village. I'd send him down and have him go wild. And then I'd watch the two of us die."

"No need to say it out loud, Koushiro. I was already thinking it."

With those grim thoughts in mind, they entered the cave.

"Hey, Taichi. Where's Agumon?" The Chosen of Knowledge asked.

"I asked him to look over Piyomon for me. Sora wouldn't want her to be left alone, and, well, I have work to do. Why?" Taichi replied, feeling a bit guilty.

"I'm just regretting not bringing more backup."

Taichi shook his head.

"Down in this cave, less is probably better anyway; if a fight breaks out, the more people involved, the worse it'll get."

"I know; I'm just suddenly extremely aware of the fact that we'll be in a dark, confined area with only Tentomon to protect us if something goes wrong. No offense buddy."

"None taken." Tentomon said, breaking his uncharacteristic silence.

Taichi felt the same way, but made a point not to show it. Instead, he tried to lighten the mood.

"It's not a problem; Tentomon's a champ."

Koushiro chuckled, understanding what Taichi was trying to do and playing along.

"Yeah." He said, before changing the subject.

He didn't want the mood to shift back again.

"We're close to the source of the signal, Taichi." He said, checking his Digivice. Should be right around this corner."

He made to turn, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

He looked at Taichi.

"Let me go first." The Chosen of Courage said. "In case there's a trap. If something happens, get out and run to the end of the Towers Radius; you're the only one who can make Tentomon evolve, so it doesn't make sense for you to take risks."

Koushiro thought about protesting, but decided against it; he was well aware of how stubborn Taichi could be.

Taichi strode forward boldly.

Nothing happened.

He glanced around.

Nothing except walls and-

Hold on. Was that…?

"Koushiro, I think you should see this." He said.

Koushiro followed him into the room after a seconds pause. It only took him a moment to see what Taichi saw.

"Hey, isn't that…?"

"Yeah." Taichi confirmed.

In the center of the room was a Digitama.

And on its shell was the Crest of Courage.

**XxXXxX**

The Digimon Kaiser had come, and the Digimon of the area scattered before him.

Evil Rings flew through the air, hunting down their targets.

The Digimon, many species united by terror, tried to run.

All it meant was that they were tired when they were caught.

But one Digimon in particular ran for a different reason.

Tailmon was afraid, that was true. She knew well the pain of enslavement and had no desire to repeat the experience. And so she ran from the Rings and the Kaiser who controlled them.

But it was not that fear that drove her.

She had to escape the Rings, if only to see if it was true.

If only to see if the Chosen had truly returned.

If only to see if Hikari had truly returned.

If it was true, then she had information for them about the Kaiser. It wasn't much, but she knew enough.

She knew about the Towers. She knew about the Rings.

And if Hikari had truly returned?

They'd crush him. They'd crush the Kaiser as they had Vamdemon.

But none of that mattered right now.

She had to get to them first and that was by no means a sure thing.

There was a Ring tailing her and it was gaining fast.

She took it for a merry chase; she knew these woods well. Between the trees, over the river, by the gathering of rocks, through the bushes and brush; through it all she ran.

And through it all it followed.

And eventually, it caught up.

For a moment, she thought it was over. For a moment, she thought she was caught.

For a moment she thought she'd failed.

But only for a moment.

And then the Holy Ring on her tail glowed and moved of its own will, bashing the Evil Ring aside.

She only had a moment to look at in confusion before another problem arose, however.

She whipped her head around when she heard something.

She nearly sighed in relief when she noticed it was just Unimon.

Almost.

But then she noticed the Ring.

And then she got angry.

"I've had it. I've had a really bad day. But I've got to find Hikari. Unimon…I'm sorry this happened to you. And I'm sorry for what's about to happen, too. I'd like to say this was going to hurt me more then it'll hurt you, but…I don't like to lie. Cat Punch!"

**XxXXxX**

"Ara?" Miyako wondered. "A message from…Yagami Taichi?"

She didn't know any Yagami Taichi.

She checked who the message was for and only got more confused.

Ishida Yamato, Kido Jyou, and Tachikawa Mimi.

She didn't recognize any of those names and she knew most of the people in the school.

And, more importantly, why did she get this message on the school computer?

"A mailing error?" She wondered.

Suddenly, she frowned in thought.

She didn't recognize any of the names, but…

Wasn't there a girl named Yagami in the fifth grade?

**XxXXxX**

"Ah, Takeru. You just moved in, right? Have you finished unpacking?" Hikari asked.

"Almost." He replied with a smile.

"Oi, you!" A voice cut it.

A familiar voice.

Hikari glanced over her shoulder with a slight frown.

"It's not 'you;' his name is Takeru."

"Takeru," Daisuke corrected himself. "What's your deal with Hikari-chan?"

"Huh?" Takeru wondered, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, his eyes widened in understanding.

He never got a chance to reply, though, because they were suddenly interrupted again.

"There you are!" Miyako said, turning a corner.

"Ah!" Takeru said, blinking. "Miyako-san!"

He got a brief smile and a nod, but she quickly focused on Hikari.

"You're…Yagami Hikari, right?" She said, pausing for just a second to remember the name.

"Yes, I am." She replied, not sure who this person was or why she was asking for her.

"Do you know a Yagami Taichi?" Miyako asked, holding out a printed piece of paper.

Hikari read it in a few seconds and what she read made her eyes widen.

"Brother!"

Takeru, who was standing just behind his friend, thought quickly.

"Miyako, you were talking about the computer room earlier, right? Can you show us where it is?"

"Ah? Oh, um…sure."

**XxXXxX**

"I've got a reply!" Taichi shouted to his friend. "From…Hikari and Takeru!"

Koushiro lifted his head at that.

"What? You finally decided to call them in?"

"No, I didn't. It's probably a good thing that they're coming, but…"

Koushiro frowned at that before shaking his head.

"Never mind that. Can you lift this egg? It won't budge for me. I think it's a Crest thing."

Taichi blinked and decided to put the issue of his redirected message aside for a moment. He walked over to the egg and knelt down beside it.

He took a deep breath, half expecting the worst, and gently took it in his hands.

A bright orange light suddenly blinded him.

"What's happening!" Koushiro asked.

The light faded as abruptly as it'd come, leaving behind only three small glowing things. They hung in the air for just a moment, before slowly beginning to rise.

The left through an opening in the ceiling, vanishing from sight.

"I…" Taichi said, hesitantly. "I…don't know."

**XxXXxX**

"Let me go, too." Daisuke insisted. "Taichi's in trouble, isn't he?"

Takeru understood his feelings, but still shook his head.

"That's impossible. It's not a place just anyone can go." Takeru said, palming his Digivice.

"Impossible or not, I'm going! So-"

Whatever Daisuke was going to say was cut off as the computer screen exploded with light.

The streams of light emerged from the computer. Two of them flew right past the occupants of the room.

But one landed in Daisuke's hands.

He looked at in confusion for a moment, before showing it to Hikari and Takeru.

"What's this?"

The Chosen of Light and Hope stared at it in shock.

"That's…a Digivice?" Takeru wondered.

"B-but…it's not like ours." Hikari said, looking at her own.

Takeru turned to speak with her, but his words died on his lips before they could even be spoken.

"Hikari, look." He said, nodding towards the screen.

She did, and immediately noticed what he was talking about.

"The gate is open…" She said. "Then…we can go into the Digital World from here?"

"I'm going too." Daisuke repeated. "I can do it with this, right?"

Takeru nodded this time.

"You can. If that's a Digivice, then you can."

"It doesn't matter." Hikari cut off that conversation before it could go any further. "I'm going."

She lifted her Digivice and was sucked into the screen in a torrent of light.

Takeru sighed but lifted his Digivice.

"Me, too. If you want to come too, just do what I do, Daisuke." He lifted his Digivice as well and vanished a moment later.

Daisuke stared in shock at the screen the other two kids had vanished into, wondering what was going on.

But then he shook his head. Hikari was right.

It didn't matter.

"I'm going!" He said, lifting his Digivice.

A flood of light blinded him.

Moments after he disappeared, two people appeared in the doorway.

Miyako and Iori looked into the room that, minutes before, held three kids.

In their hands, they each held a Digivice.

**XxXXxX**

Daisuke looked around in awe.

Gone was the computer classroom. He was now standing in a strange forest.

He blinked as he noticed something and then squinted at his surroundings.

A _very_ strange forest. He was by no means an expert on trees, but he didn't recognize any of the ones around him.

He looked a bit more closely at the area and realized something else.

He didn't recognize _anything_ around him.

"So this is the Digital World?" He asked, though of no one in particular.

He wasn't sure what he had expected to be on the other side of the computer screen, but a forest certain wasn't it.

He looked at his two comrades. They looked fine and…completely unsurprised with the surroundings.

Though…they were looking at him a bit oddly…

He glanced down.

"Whoa! What happened to my clothes!"

His casual after-school wear was gone, replaced by a jacket with flames sewn onto it. He also now wore gloves.

At least his pants were the same. Though he had to admit, he found his new outfit kind of cool.

He looked back to Hikari and Takeru, intending to ask them what was going on, only to find that they were looking at their strange machines…their Digivices, they'd called them.

They were walking away from him, apparently following something.

"Hey, guys; wait for me!"

**XxXXxX**

The Digimon Kaiser turned his attention to one of the screens before him, noticing something.

"Hmph. Breaking into my World without my permission? Some people have no manners."

He looked at another screen and smiled.

"Well…I guess it doesn't matter. Even if they don't…they can still be taught."

**XxXXxX**

Walking a bit behind the other two, Daisuke tried to break the uncomfortable silence that had arisen.

"So, this is the Digital World." He said again. "It looks a bit weird but…I guess it's not that different from our World…"

He trailed off in confusion.

"A Vending Machine?" He asked.

What was a Vending Machine doing in the middle of the forest?

He took a step forward, before stumbling several steps back and falling over as blobby, green…things started coming out of it.

He could admit, at least to himself, that he screamed a bit.

But just a bit.

He quickly picked himself up off the ground when he heard laughter.

Heat rose in his face as he brushed himself off.

"What were those things?" He asked after a brief silence.

"Digimon." Hikari said. "There are many kinds; some are a lot cuter."

"And some are a lot scarier, too." Takeru added.

He and Hikari exchanged looks, leaving Daisuke feeling a bit left out.

"Takeru!" A new voice interrupted.

Daisuke turned to see a…

He tilted his head in confused fascination.

Orange and white bat-wing eared pig thing. That flew via those ears.

Takeru apparently recognized the…thing and didn't seem bothered by the offense to Biology that was its existence.

"Patamon!" He said, catching the thing out of midair. "It's been a long time!"

"Hikari!" Another voice called, though this one he recognized.

Taichi came into view a second later.

He paused for a moment, as if unsure what to say, before recovering.

"Thanks for coming to help."

"Taichi!" Daisuke greeted happily, feeling a bit relieved. "I'm glad you're okay!"

The older teen blinked in surprise.

"Daisuke? Why are you here?" He seemed to be asking that question of the other two, but they were both preoccupied.

"Hikari!" A talking white and purple cat bounded into view, jumping into Hikari's arms.

"Tailmon!" Hikari greeted, a smile spreading across her face.

It quickly shifted to shock. Daisuke could tell why.

The cat had seen better days. She was covered in bruises and small cuts.

She looked like she'd spent the whole day kicking ass.

"What happened!" Hikari demanded, worriedly.

Daisuke looked at the cat's claws and paws and felt more worried about the other guy.

**XxXXxX**

"I managed to defeat Unimon and several other enslaved Digimon. I heard rumors that the Chosen had returned, and I had to at least tell you what I knew." Tailmon said. "I ran into Taichi just before we found you."

Taichi spoke first, sliding effortlessly into his role as leader.

"What's going on, Tailmon? What are those Towers?"

"A Human called the Digimon Kaiser has been enslaving and brainwashing all the Digimon he could find."

"A Human?" Takeru asked, surprised. "There are humans besides us in the Digital World?"

Tailmon nodded.

"And that's not all. I managed to get close enough to see him; he had a Digivice different from Hikari's."

Takeru turned towards Daisuke and lifted an eyebrow.

"Then maybe it's like yours, Daisuke."

Daisuke had caught on the moment Takeru looked at him and was already fishing out his Digivice.

He showed it to Tailmon.

"Like this?" He asked.

The catlike Digimon was surprised at the sight, but she nodded.

""Yes, it was just like that one."

"But this thing just came out of a computer screen!" He said, looking at it.

His statement caught Taichi's attention.

The Leader of the Chosen quickly made some connections. If Daisuke just received his Digivice, it was likely one of those things that had emerged from the Egg. In that case, there should be two more Digivices.

A new batch of Chosen.

Taichi frowned as another thought hit him.

Only three of them?

Granted, quantity wasn't everything, but…if they truly were unable to evolve, they would need more than three more Chosen. Especially since Daisuke didn't seem to have a partner yet.

Taichi shook himself. It didn't matter; they'd just have to deal with it.

They now knew their enemy; a human calling himself the Digimon Kaiser. If he was the one raising Dark Towers, then he was probably involved with the destruction of Pyocomon Village and the injuring of Sora and Piyomon.

With the addition of Daisuke, they now had, technically, nine Chosen Children. Do to Sora's injuries, it was actually more like eight and would likely remain so for the foreseeable future.

If they could find the other two, however, they'd have a total of ten, and eventually eleven.

Ten to one were pretty good odds, but there was still a problem.

"Tailmon, what did you mean when you said the Kaiser enslaved and brainwashed Digimon?"

"He has these black Rings that connect to Digimon and take control of them. And because of that Digivice of his, we can't evolve."

"So that's it…" Taichi scowled.

"If I could evolve, then we could deal with him." Patamon said, feeling a bit put off.

"Where are the others?" Hikari asked.

"After we met up with Tailmon, Koushiro went to find the others. Actually, we were originally going to go together, but then we detected you. They should be coming soon." Taichi replied.

Hikari took a moment to think about that.

"Everyone was already in the Digital World?" She said, frowning.

Takeru caught on immediately.

"Everyone except us?" He added.

Taichi winced. This conversation was gonna suck.

None of them noticed a black Ring hovering silently in the air behind above them.

**XxXXxX**

The Kaiser chuckled at the expressions of the Chosen.

They were taking this so seriously it was funny.

"This is a game." He said to himself. "And I hate people who don't know how to have fun."

He brought up a screen with a gesture and pressed some buttons.

"Let's destroy them. Let's go!" He ordered, pressing a final button.

**XxXXxX**

In the cages beneath the ground, two sleeping Digimon opened their eyes as they were grabbed by the waist.

They were lifted into the air by mechanical arms, the ceiling opening to let them through.

The arms released them as soon as they were above ground and they both roared to the heavens.

Did they realize they were slaves? Did they realize they were being controlled against their will?

Nobody knew.

But there was one thing they knew for sure.

Their master's enemies were nearby.

Following the coordinates issued by their respective rings, Monochromon and Snimon began to move.

**XxXXxX**

Taichi had managed to cut his chastisement short by bringing up the issue of the egg.

He was well aware that it would come back up the next time he and Hikari were alone, however.

"This…isn't this the Crest of Courage?" Takeru asked.

"Yeah. And it's really heavy." Taichi replied. "I couldn't budge it."

Takeru stepped forward and tried to lift it.

He accomplished nothing but hurting his arms.

"You're not kidding." He said, wincing.

"But it's so small…" Hikari said, stepping forward to try herself.

She had about as much success as the boys.

"What? Why's it so heavy? I can't move it at all." She said, frowning.

Seeing his chance, Daisuke's expression brightened.

"Alright, leave it to me!" He said, striding forward confidently.

The rest of the room looked at him dully.

Daisuke braced himself. He placed his feet and took the egg, well aware that it was heavy. He pulled as hard as he could, putting everything into it.

So he was really surprised when he found that it wasn't heavy at all, and ended up falling over.

"What the?" He started, before sighing and looking at the others, feeling like the butt of a joke. "Oh, you guys."

The others just looked at him in shock.

"Daisuke…" Taichi started.

He was cut off in an instant, however, by another eruption of light, this time from where the egg had been.

This one wasn't blinding however, it was a gentle orange light. Something began to appear in it after a moment, floating in midair.

The more experienced Chosen began to tense at the sight, whereas Daisuke merely stared in awe.

All of them were put off, however, when it turned out to be a loud, overenthusiastic blue dinosaur.

"Finally! You moved the Digimental!" It said, bouncing around Daisuke. "I'm V-mon; what's your name?"

"D-Daisuke…" The new Chosen said, feeling even more lost.

"Nice to meet you, Daisuke. I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Waiting for me?" And it wasn't getting any clearer, either.

"Yeah! I've been waiting for the child who would move the Digimental of Courage!"

"_Digimental of Courage?"_ Taichi thought in the background. _"Daisuke moved it, so that means…"_

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the shaking of the cave.

"What the?" Daisuke, still unused to the Digital World, asked. "An earthquake?"

The others, due to the benefit of experience, were aware they were nowhere near that lucky.

"No! Look there?" Takeru said, pointing upwards.

Through the hole in the ceiling, something was barely visible. It quickly became more visiable, though, because it tore through the solid stone of the roof effortlessly.

"A monster!" Daisuke said, not making the connection between this thing and the other creatures he'd seen.

"No; it's another Digimon." Hikari corrected.

"Monochromon." Takeru identified, remembering him.

Monochromon moved forward, heedless of the open air, and feel into the cave. He landed with surprising grace for something so large.

The Chosen's Digimon quickly attacked.

"Air Shot!" Patamon said.

It had about as much effect as it usually had, as Monochromon closed his eyes and let it impact into his diamond-hard head.

"Hikari!" Tailmon shouted. "The cave's gonna collapse; if we're going to fight, let's do it outside!"

"You heard her!" Taichi said, already running for the exit.

"Daisuke!" Hikari screamed, snapping Daisuke out of his shock.

"I'm coming!"

**XxXXxX**

Running through a cave, a natural structure full of obstacles and natural features that just got in the way, was hard, Daisuke mused to himself.

Running through one while it was collapsing, however, was even harder.

He liked to think he was in pretty good shape, being a soccer player and all, but this was nothing like running on the field.

He wasn't so wrapped up in strain of the run that he didn't hear V-mon talking, however.

"Daisuke, what are you doing?" V-mon asked. "Hurry up and use your Courage."

"What?" He asked between gasping breaths. He was being chased through a collapsing cave by a fire breathing monster. Anything that involved courage in this situation would likely also involve stupidity.

Suddenly, Monochromon closed most of the distance between them in a burst of impressive speed. Daisuke, glancing back, was given a fairly horrifying view of the creatures gaping maw.

That was a lot of teeth, he noted to himself. He followed that thought with a truly amazing burst of speed, gift of a sudden wave of utter terror.

V-mon's idea was becoming progressively more stupid.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (and hoping it was the end of the cave and not death), Daisuke ignored the burning of his legs and sprinted the rest of the distance out of the cave.

And when he did, he noticed several things at once.

One, Monochromon was no longer behind him. While he thought that was a good, it didn't really make sense. One minute he was struggling to keep ahead and the next his pursuer was gone? Even if he was that fast, and he was well aware that he wasn't, Monochromon should still be trying to catch up.

He didn't have a lot of time to ponder that, however, because he was distracted by the other thing he noticed.

He was alone. Well, he had a panting V-mon by his side, but otherwise, he was alone. Hikari wasn't here. Taichi wasn't here. Takeru wasn't here.

They'd been a bit ahead of him, sure, because they'd gotten a head start, but…

Where were they?

"Daisuke, over here!" A voice, Taichi's voice, came from the bottom of a small cliff and dispelled his fears before they could fully form.

He didn't even get a chance to feel relieved when Monochromon did that same to it, though.

"Daisuke!" V-mon shouted, pushing him over the edge. The fall wasn't large, but it still hurt. He began to complain.

A torrential wave of fire went right over them. He shut up.

"Thanks." He groaned out instead.

"If you used your courage…if you just said 'Digimental Up'…" V-mon began.

Daisuke looked at him like he was speaking another language.

Still, he'd just saved his life; the new Chosen figured he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

He was about to comply when Taichi interrupted him.

"Daisuke! Are you all right?" He asked.

Daisuke, suddenly aware that he _still_ didn't know where Hikari and Takeru were, nodded and was about to ask.

"Say 'Digimental Up!' Then I'll be able to evolve!" V-mon cut in insistently.

Daisuke still didn't know what he was talking about.

Taichi apparently did, however.

"What?" The older teen demanded. Behind him, Takeru came into sight.

"Taichi! Hikari just got attacked by…a Digimon!" Takeru shouted, trailing off as he searched for a name and then deciding he honestly didn't care.

Taichi whirled around while Daisuke was getting progressively caught up in home confusing things were getting.

Monochromon leapt over the cliff and landed with a thunderous crash.

The assembled Chosen nearly leapt out of their skins.

"Hurry up!" V-mon insisted.

"Daisuke, move!" Taichi ordered.

And Daisuke…looked at his partner.

"I'll try." He told V-mon, whose expression immediately brightened.

He rose to his feet, noting as he did that his goggles had broken in the fall.

He tore them off, threw them away, and lifted the Digimental of Courage.

"Digimental Up!"

"V-mon, Armor shinka!"

Flames erupted around the small Digimon, twisting and writhing as they grew higher, grasping jealously at V-mon's form. The coiled about his body, and though he could barely see into the flames, Daisuke thought V-mon's figure was growing as well.

His suspicions were quickly confirmed as the Flames were blown away, revealing…

V-mon?

He was indeed bigger; several times his previous height. His body remained much the same; a largely blue hide and a white belly. But as he'd said before transforming, he was indeed now wearing armor. On his feet, knees, hands, upper body, and face, he wore armor that look much like the Digimental which allowed him to evolve, with stylized flames and everything. He also wore two belts, wrapped around both of his upper arms. From his hands emerged much longer claws, and from his head came a horn that looked like a larger version of the one on the Digimental.

"Burning Courage, Fladramon!" His partner announced to the world.

And as his first act following his transformation-no, his evolution, he leapt into the air.

And he hit Monochromon like a freight train. He slammed into the much larger Digimon and knocked him from his feet. Fladramon landed lightly on his feet, unbothered by the enormous impact, and looked at Monochromon with blazing eyes.

"He…evolved?" Taichi said, before feeling stupid for stating the obvious.

But even so, they'd confirmed that they couldn't evolve in this area!

But V-mon had.

Taichi looked towards the newest Chosen, this time in a different light.

Daisuke had made him evolve.

**XxXXxX**

The Kaiser looked at the screen before him with an expression between amusement and consternation.

"Armor Shinka, huh?" He said. "My Digivice should have kept him from evolving, but…"

Could they have something to do with the beast that had destroyed his Dark Tower? Scattered reports from the area had implied the existence of a smaller Digimon then the one he'd seen in that picture. At the time, he'd dismissed it, but…

Could that Digimon have evolved too?

"Hmph. I guess they aren't that bad, after all." He concluded before chuckling in amusement.

It seemed the game was on.

**XxXXxX**

Monochromon quickly got to his feet and charged Fladramon. For his part, the evolved V-mon braced himself, but otherwise did not move.

Monochromon plowed into the newly evolved Digimon and for a moment it seemed he would repay Fladramon's earlier attack.

For a moment.

But then Fladramon stopped being pushed back.

The Burning Courage narrowed his eyes and the enslaved Monochromon widened his. His mind was locked in the Kaiser's iron grip, his will no longer his own. But deep down, underneath everything, perhaps down in his very data, there was still something left.

Perhaps it was fear?

Fladramon planted his feet and lifted with all his might. Monochromon must have weighed tens of tons at least, but even so, his feet left the ground. He was carried into the air, but only for a moment. Fladramon jumped, despite the weight of the vastly larger Monochromon, he jump and brought his captive with him.

And in the air, he leaned backwards and dragged Monochromon's bulk with him.

The Adult Digimon found himself slammed into the ground by Fladramon's impossible strength.

The Ankylosaur Digimon tried to recover, rolling onto his belly and trying to lift himself to his feet, but Fladramon had no intention of giving him time to do that. The smaller Digimon quickly charged his opponent, who unleashed a Valcano Strike in an attempt to buy himself time.

Fladramon plowed right through the fireballs as if they weren't even there, barely slowing down at all.

But the attack served its purpose well enough. Monochromon managed to get to his feet and started running towards his attacker.

Fladramon obviously saw him coming, but he cared not at all. He met the charge full on.

But this time things went a bit differently.

Monochromon lowered his head to slam his helmet into Fladramon again.

And Fladramon let him.

He turned his body at the last second, slamming his shoulder into Monochromon's head. He rebounded off of it as the force of the larger Digimon threw him into the air as if he was a child being hit by a car.

Just as he'd planned.

He recovered in midair, flipping, changing directions in impossible ways, and righting himself in the sky above it all. In a moment, his body was wreathed in flames.

He floated there in the sky for a few seconds, taking everything in. Below him, the gathered Chosen looked up in awe. Nearby, Monochromon stood waiting, uncertain as to what was going on. Off a ways to the side, he could see Hikari and Tailmon. They were fighting some kind of large green insect. Snimon, he guessed. Tailmon had taken to the trees to combat the flying Digimon, and she seemed to have everything well in hand.

Good. He didn't need to worry about anything but the enemy before him.

Fladramon closed his eyes.

"Fire Rocket!"

And the Burning Courage fell from the sky like a comet.

**XxXXxX**

In his fortress, the Digimon Kaiser contemplated this change of events. He was a bit upset, true, but he was also intrigued.

This could he interesting.

"Seems like I'll have to take you seriously. I'm looking forward to it."

Behind him, his partner Wormmon looked at him a bit sadly.

"Ken…"

**XxXXxX**

In the Dark Area, the Angel Digimon Lucemon was doing the same thing.

This was an unexpected turn of events to be sure. He was familiar with Armor Evolution; it was a primitive form of evolution. It had been used in the days when the Digital World was young and it was nearly impossible to evolve without outside assistance.

Of course, that had never been a problem for him.

Still, it made sense that it would be brought back in this situation; it neatly sidestepped the problem of the Dark Towers. He was just a bit surprised to see something that brought back such old memories.

But who'd brought it back? Gennai? Or perhaps the Sovereigns were a bit more active then he thought?

He supposed it didn't matter. Armor evolution was equivalent to Adult evolution, more or less. It changed little; they'd just have to deal with a few more powerful Digimon.

Still…

Some new Chosen, hm? That was interesting, but he supposed it wasn't that surprising; bringing in some kids to deal with new problems was the way things had been for quite some time.

Lucemon chuckled at the thought.

Wasn't that what he was doing, after all?

At least one more Chosen and potentially three more. There had been eight already, but Sora and Piyomon were out of commission for now. So eight to ten Chosen.

But the Dark Towers could render up to seven of them useless, so it was really just one to three.

No…that Tailmon could be an issue as well; Lucemon was well aware of the power held by the Holy Rings, as well as the evolution lines a Tailmon was able to take. And this Tailmon had shown her worth against the Chosen themselves when she was Vamdemon's servant.

But speaking of evolution lines...

A V-mon?

It had been a long time since he'd seen a V-mon. Back in the Ancient days of the Digital World. He knew what type of things that little Digimon could become. Some of them were worrisome.

He'd have to keep an eye on that one.

A slight sound attracted Lucemon's attention.

Guilmon was waiting for his Tamer.

He was strong; a Child born of the harsh South Quadrant. He could grow and adapt at an accelerated rate, even for a Virus. He could take down Adult levels by himself, even.

Lucemon chuckled to himself.

What was he worried about?

He had Takato and Guilmon.

And Takato and Guilmon had him.

It really didn't matter what games Gennai or those pretenders that called themselves Holy Beasts tried to play.

He'd just have to crush them.

Behind him the gate opened and Lucemon's smile widened.

"Hey, Lucemon, I'm back. Sorry I'm so late, but Mom needed my help at the bakery." Takato said, nodding at the Angel Digimon. "Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

It was said largely as a joke, but as Lucemon tilted his head to the side and smiled Takato noticably stiffened.

"Hm...Where to begin? Well...between the time you left school and the time you got here, I've torn away pretty much every advantage you had. I've also added a number of new Chosen to the game, just for the laughs. I've given them motivation to brutally crush the Kaiser, and you should they ever learn of your existence, and I've given them the means to potentially do it. I've given them away to evolve despite Dark Tower, tearing that advantage away from you, and I did it while you were away so that you have no way of preventing it, so your absence was quite fortuitous, really. I've changed the entire playing field, all the rules, your number of enemies, and the degree to which you are screwed, all at the same time, and I must say that I greatly enjoyed doing so. And how was your day, Takato?" He asked brightly.

"...What?"

**XxXXxX**


	5. Chapter 5: Learning Curves

Devil's Advocate

Chapter Five: Learning Curves

Screams rang through the area. Trees toppled; some with their trunks snapped like twigs, some cut so cleanly it seemed impossible.

Takato briefly entertained himself with that whole conjecture about trees, forests, and people being around to hear them. But he dismissed the random thought as quickly as it came.

It didn't matter; there were quite a few people around to hear these trees fall. None of them particularly cared about them or the noise they created.

They seemed more preoccupied with the savage, fire-breathing dinosaur.

Growmon rampaged amongst them. There were so many of them they seemed to dissolve into a chaotic sea of faces as they ran.

And Growmon hunted them down.

Takato thought he saw familiar faces sometimes; a Numemon here, a few types of Insect Digimon there, and, hm, what was that thing buzzing around up there?

It was hard to even see, but it looked yellow and black with…purple wings? They were fluttering too quickly for him to really see. It was annoying Growmon, shooting these strange little stingers at him.

It didn't matter. One after another, each stinger bounced off Growmon's hide.

But now Takato was a bit interested. More because he was sure he'd seen that thing somewhere before than anything else. He usually had a good memory for these things. It was an Insect Type Digimon, and it was emitting a strange noise, like a fly.

Takato tilted his head as Growmon carefully followed the thing with his eyes.

A Flymon, Takato thought, just before it was crushed under Growmon's mighty hand.

So much like its namesake, too.

But if that was a Flymon, then those smaller things were…what? Kunemon?

Takato lifted his Digivice to check and nodded as the screen came up. Yup; Kunemon.

Takato was really just relaxing right now. He was resting with his back to a tree, watching his partner with half-lidded eyes.

Growmon was having fun, so he'd wait right here, but…he never had much patience for level grinding. He always did it out of necessity, but he didn't have to like it.

Though, he mused as his partner's Exhaust Flame burnt away a group of screaming Kunemon, this was a bit more enjoyable than normal. He really did love the graphics in this game.

But that wasn't the only reason he was sitting here.

As his thoughts came back to the issue at hand, he winced slightly.

New Chosen and new forms of evolution.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Originally he'd been a bit upset. Lucemon hadn't shown any mercy with _that_ one; as soon as he'd logged on he'd gotten hit with new changes to the game. That's why he'd come out here with Growmon; the two of them had rampaged around this Area and those nearby, deleting everything that got in their way.

He'd like to convince himself that he was just blowing off steam, but he couldn't.

He was worried.

He hadn't even gotten a chance to see the new Chosen Child. Whoever he was, he certainly hadn't been in the show; Takato would have remembered him if he had.

He knew nothing about his opponent this time, and that worried him a lot.

He'd been surprised to realize that. He didn't normally think himself the easily scared sort. I mean, he'd fought Meramon just fine even though he knew he was a higher level than Guilmon. But maybe that was it?

He'd come into this game knowing all the rules. He knew the Chosen; their personalities, their partners, their flaws, their evolutions, even a bit about their pasts. And not just them; he knew most of the Digimon in this game. He'd always had the benefit of knowledge on his side.

He silently wished he knew more about Sun Tzu then his name so that he could make a wise sounding quote about that.

And that was the real reason he was here. He wasn't just blowing off steam; he was attempting to relieve his worries. He was doing that in the traditional gamer way; he was level grinding in preparation.

Also, he had to admit that watching Growmon crush legions effortlessly was doing a lot for his self confidence.

It was just going to be an uphill battle against his memories of having to fight Brock with a Fire Pokémon as his starter.

But after awhile of mindless slaughter, he'd accepted the situation and got over it.

It made sense after all; he was testing the game, right? It was his job to find problems and let Lucemon know to fix them. Well, the Dark Tower combination was obviously a flaw; it would have allowed him to take on the entire enemy team in a single fight and half the game would have been over just like that.

So it made sense that the game needed to be adjusted to compensate.

The sudden surprise was just Lucemon messing with him. Takato would have thought the angel enjoyed doing that if Lucemon hadn't flat out stated so previously.

Takato nodded to himself, standing up.

In that case, he shouldn't start panicking; he should think about this rationally.

The Chosen still didn't know who he was or even that he existed. He could use that.

When the Chosen next came to the Digital World, which he assumed they'd do tomorrow, he'd be waiting. He'd get a good look at the new Chosen and then decide what to do instead of rushing in head first.

If the Chosen was strong enough to weaken the Kaiser, then he'd leave him be. Or perhaps he should help them? He should really get a grasp of the extent of the Kaiser's power one of these days; otherwise he was going to have to rely on guesswork.

But if the Chosen was too strong…well then…

A buzzing noise attracted Takato's attention.

Another Flymon was attacking Growmon.

Takato snorted.

"Blow her out of the sky, boy."

**XxXXxX**

As Takato entered the Dark World, he immediately approached Lucemon. He had questions that he needed answers to.

"Lucemon, when do the Chosen enter the Digital World in this game?" Takato asked.

"I'm trying to keep things as realistic as possible so they come on immediately after school. They use their school computer lab to enter the Digital World, though, so they still have an advantage over you, time-wise. The Kaiser uses his home computer, however."

Takato narrowed his eyes in thought. He had a suspicion that the designers of this game wanted players to spend as much time playing this game as possible, but apparently they didn't want to get in the way of students.

A target audience thing, perhaps?

It wouldn't matter, hopefully. Unless his mother needed his help in the bakery again…

He'd just have to hope she didn't. If she did, well…it was just a game.

"So where are they going tomorrow?" He asked.

Lucemon lifted an eyebrow at that and smiled.

"And why would I tell you that? I'm trying to keep this realistic; how would you realistically know that."

Takato had figured he'd say that, since Lucemon enjoyed tormenting him.

He had also thought of a way around it.

"Because while you're trying to make this game as hard as you can, you're also trying to make it an enjoyable experience. Given the size of the Digital World, if players are forced to run around completely blind, then it'll take forever and start grating on peoples nerves. At that point, people are going to start chewing on the scenery and throwing bricks. In addition, it doesn't have to be unrealistic."

"Oh?"

"Think about it; in this case for example, there are still two new Chosen out there. Each of them needs two things; a partner and a Digimental to allow them to evolve. A partner isn't particularly hard to find; we're in a world full of Digimon. But a Digimental? I'm betting those are pretty hard to come by."

Lucemon made a noncommittal noise.

"And it's not just that! You said Taichi and Koushiro managed to find this Digimental by sensing something with their Digivices. You could just say you found the location by scanning for it."

Takato looked at Lucemon expectantly and the Angel nodded reluctantly.

"But why would I give you that location today instead of, oh, say, tomorrow when they start heading towards it?"

"Think about it, Lucemon. Wouldn't the game be more fun if players could be proactive instead of just reactive?"

Lucemon tilted his head to the side.

"What do you purpose?"

"Tell me where it is. Let me go there today. Let me set a few things up."

"Okay, I admit it; I'm interested." Lucemon said.

"I'll prepare the area for the Chosen and the Kaiser. Let me make this game a bit more fun, Lucemon." Takato urged.

Lucemon was silent for a minute which Takato spent staring silently at him, trying to will him to accept.

The Angel sighed.

"Alright, alright; go ahead." Lucemon said, gesturing at the gate. It glowed once.

Takato grinned.

"Let's go play a game, boy."

The duo left and Lucemon watched them go. Even after they faded away in the light of the portal, he continued to stare silently at the portal for a minute until he was sure they weren't coming back.

He quickly scanned the area around him, confirming he was alone.

As soon as he was sure, he punched the air in triumph.

**XxXXxX**

"What are we going to do?" Hikari asked worriedly.

Takeru looked at her in confusion; that wasn't how he'd expected her to greet him first thing in the morning.

"I beg your pardon?" He asked.

Hikari seemed to intuit that he was going to need a bit more information to work with in order to be of any use.

"About the new Chosen." She explained.

"Is something wrong with Daisuke?" Takeru asked, suddenly concerned.

The Chosen of Light sighed, seeming to think her friend slow.

"The _other_ new Chosen. There were three new Digivices, remember?"

Takeru stiffened at that; in the Chaos that had followed V-mon's awakening, he'd forgotten all about that.

"Oh. Right." Takeru said lamely, thinking back to yesterday. He tried to find anything that could help. "Three things came out of the computer. At least, that's how it looked to me."

Hikari nodded in agreement.

"I thought so, too. Since one was Daisuke's Digivice, I figure the other two were as well. But I have no idea where to even start looking for the other two new Chosen."

Takeru winced, now understanding the problem.

"We lucked out with Daisuke being literally right next to us." He admitted.

"But the other two could be anywhere." Hikari sighed. "As far as we know, that could even be literally true; they could be anywhere on the planet for all we know!"

Takeru thought about that for a moment.

"Well, while that _could_ be true, let's not go overboard." He said after a moment. "If they are in America or Africa or wherever, then there's nothing we can do about it. For the moment, let's operate under the assumption that we aren't powerless in this situation. In that case, they'd have to be somewhere in Japan."

"More like somewhere in this city." Hikari frowned. "A single country is easier to search than an entire planet, but between the eight of us, it'd still be effectively impossible. Besides, it would be hard to convince our parents to let us out of town in the first place. Even one city is probably too large."

Takeru honed in on that 'eight' comment and winced.

"You heard what happened to Sora?" He asked.

She turned away.

"Takeru…even if we find them, do we really have the right to drag them into this. Whoever's doing this, this Kaiser…he obviously has no trouble with injuring and killing people. Is it really our place to lead them into what could be their deaths?"

This time it was Takeru who turned away.

"Even if we found them, what then?" She asked.

It took him a moment to respond.

"They'll need partners. And they'll need one of those Digimentals to evolve. We'll need to take them into the Digital World to get them."

"And then what, Takeru? Do we make them soldiers and have them fight because we can't?"

He couldn't answer that, so he tried to change the subject.

"None of that matters until we actually find them." He said.

It was a way of avoiding the question and Hikari knew it.

But she also knew him. She knew how hard this was for him and the others as well. At least Tailmon was still an Adult; they could fight anyway.

But the others were all stuck at Child level.

Hikari knew that. She knew how much that had to hurt.

And so she let him avoid the question.

She was about to start what would probably have been really awkward small talk, but she was interrupted by a voice.

She turned to the source, feeling a bit grateful.

"Miyako?" She asked, blinking.

"Ah! And Iori. Hello again. Is something wrong?" Takeru said, sounding as relieved as she felt.

"Yeah; you guys and Daisuke vanished yesterday. We thought we saw a bright light coming from the computer room, too. Do you know what that was about?" She asked.

The two Chosen glanced at each other, trying to think of a way to explain this but Iori proposed another question before they could.

"And do you know what this thing is?" He asked, lifting a Digivice identical to Daisuke's in all but color. "It came flying into our hands, but neither of us could figure out what it was."

Takeru and Hikari's eyes widened and they looked at each other in disbelief.

"Well…" Takeru said after a moment. "That solves that problem."

**XxXXxX**

Takato looked silently down upon the Chosen as they walked through the Digital World. He could only see them through his Digivice, thanks to his partner's superior eyesight.

He'd entered the Digital World nearly ten minutes after them, but he'd beaten them here.

Mainly because he'd cheated.

He'd quite deliberately moved one of the televisions that served as his portals to about five feet away from his desired destination.

As a backup pain, he'd also moved another television to a pre-set destination, just in case he was separated from this area and needed to make a quick getaway. It'd taken some trial and error to figure out how to set the televisions up so that they connected to the Digital World properly and served as portals, but he'd managed with Lucemon's help.

Oh, the wonders of foreknowledge.

So what if most of his advantages were gone? That just meant one thing.

He'd had to get some new ones.

This was the place to start, he was sure. It wasn't something he'd always be able to rely on, but whenever he could it was the best advantage he could possibly hope for.

Knowledge. In this case, he had it.

They didn't. In more ways than one, Takato thought, glancing over his shoulder.

He knew who they were. He knew where they were going. He knew why they were here. He knew the geography of the area. He knew the resources he had at his disposal. He knew the location and number of his opponents. He knew the full extent of his capabilities and his odds against his opponents. He knew the Kaiser's current activities, at least in this area.

And he was prepared. He'd used that knowledge and put it together as best he could.

His resources were limited; he couldn't set up conventional traps with what he had on hand. Especially not alone. He had Guilmon, his cards, his Digivice, and Lucemon's knowledge, and time on his side; enormous advantages, all told, but not the type of advantages needed to set up traps.

So he didn't bother.

When he arrived, he found the Kaiser doing so; apparently his advantages _did_ run this way. He changed his plan slightly to account for that and let his enemy handle that problem for him.

And then he carefully avoided to traps and went to the Digimentals.

He could see them as he turned around.

Love and Knowledge.

"Now…" Takato began, speaking to himself. Guilmon's head perked up at his voice, anyway.

He still had some time before the Chosen arrived.

"What do I do with you?"

He couldn't lift them. He'd tried, as soon as he'd gotten here. It felt like they weighed a ton.

They were hard, too. Really hard. He hadn't had Guilmon try to break them, though; he wasn't sure he wanted them broken. And what if Guilmon couldn't break them? His attempts would leave evidence…probably.

Takato doubted. Would his plan work? It was risky, but…

If he broke them, if he _could_ break them, would it help? Two more Chosen with the ability to Armor evolve…they'd cause trouble for the Kaiser. But if- no, _when_ they found out about him, they'd cause trouble for him, too.

Was the benefit now worth the trouble later?

He looked at Guilmon and nodded.

He wasn't ready to take on the Kaiser alone…yet.

He needed someone else to do it for him.

So Takato came to a conclusion. The same conclusion he'd come to earlier.

He'd go along with his plan.

It should work. If he didn't make any mistakes, it should work.

So Takato turned away from the Digimentals.

Their proper owners were coming.

He'd wait with them until they got here.

**XxXXxX**

"How are they?" Taichi asked, sitting by Sora's side.

Jyou was hesitant to reply, but did so anyway.

"…Better. I'm not sure what it is about the Digital World, but…I think you might be right; this could be the safest place for her. Even after all this time, there hasn't been any sign of infection or disease. If we can find someone capable of speeding Piyomon's healing along, then both of them should be fine."

"…That's good." He said, staring at his friend's face. She looked so peaceful, lying there.

He closed his eyes as he remembered her face while she fell.

"How are the others? Have they left yet?" He asked, no longer wanting to dwell on this subject.

Jyou obviously noticed that, but went along without comment. This wasn't his favorite topic either.

"Yamato left already; he went back to the Real World." He said.

Taichi chuckled.

"I imagine he wasn't too happy about that."

"He complained vocally. Repeatedly. _Insistently_." Jyou said frankly. "But he went, just like you told him to."

"Somebody needs to keep everyone over there oblivious." Taichi said. "Yamato is the most obvious choice, since he's the most popular. He'll have an easier time convincing everyone that nothing is wrong. He can say we're hanging out after class or something."

"The benefits of being a rockstar." His friend agreed. "Still, that might keep the other students from worrying about our absence, but not our parents."

"I know." The Chosen of Courage replied. "I already talked to my parents. Mom was upset, but I managed to convince her it was something I had to do. I'm going to have to ask you all to do the same. Sorry."

Jyou sighed. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation he was going to need to have with his dad. Maybe he could get his brother to help?

"Mimi…" Jyou had to look away for a minute. "Mimi is back home."

Taichi blinked at that, looking at his friend in confusion.

"Mimi was in bad shape. I sent her home." He explained.

"Ah. She didn't complain?" Taichi asked hopefully.

He would actually have been reassured if she'd complained. She'd been basically unresponsive for awhile now.

Jyou shook his head sadly.

"She was basically catatonic when I sent her off."

Taichi looked down.

"I see."

Jyou continued onward, hoping to leave that subject behind.

"The new guys are heading towards those signals we found. Hikari and Takeru are backing them up."

Taichi frowned thoughtfully.

"Koushirou's in that area, right? Could you send him a message and ask him to help out, too?"

Jyou saluted.

"I'll get on it as soon as I'm done here, boss man." Jyou said, before hesitating. "There are a few more issues we need to address."

Taichi glanced at him and nodded for him to continue.

"What about Sora's parents?" He asked nervously.

Taichi was silent for a moment, before his eyes and resolve hardened.

"I'll handle them." He promised, standing.

"One more thing…" Jyou said, stopping his leader. "…What do we do now?"

Taichi had spent hours agonizing over that question. What did they do, now that the Dark Towers basically neutered them, combat-wise? What did they do now that the Digital World had apparently saw fit to replace them?

He'd thought about it long and hard.

And really, there was only one answer.

"During the day, we go to school. We act normal, we cover for Sora, and we go on with life. We keep everyone thinking things are normal until school is out."

"And then?" Jyou egged him on.

Taichi glanced back at his friend with resolve burning in his eyes.

"And then we do everything we _can_ do."

**XxXXxX**

Miyako adjusted her new hat to make it more comfortable.

She liked it, as she had said when she first noticed it. She thought it was cool, though she didn't understand why her clothing had changed.

But she was nervous. No…maybe scared.

She'd seen what had happened to Sora and her partner Piyomon. The others, the Chosen, had warned her of how dangerous it could be.

They'd even given her the chance to back out.

She'd bristled at first, not wanting to seem scared in front of the older kids. She'd said she could handle it, shelving her worries.

But then Daisuke, looking as serious as she'd ever seen him, took her and Iori aside and explained. They, the new Chosen, were their only hope. They were the only ones who could evolve and fight the Kaiser.

And even so, the older Chosen were giving her a chance to back out because they'd rather get hurt themselves than watch her do so.

She'd quieted down after that, before replying much more firmly.

She couldn't abandon people like that to their fate.

Even so, she put a hand on Iori's shoulder and squeezed it gently, attempting to reassure herself as much as reassure him.

The youngest Chosen nodded silently, not even glancing at her.

He didn't have to.

**XxXXxX**

"V-mon!" Daisuke shouted, trying to find his partner.

He was aware that it wasn't safe to be without one while in the Digital World.

Still, he was starting to get worried, not for himself, but for his partner. He'd been looking for him for several minutes, but he'd gotten no reply.

He was supposed to be in this area…

Had something happened to him?

"Daisuke!" His partner's voice interrupted his thoughts, catching his attention.

"V-mon!" He shouted again, this time in relief. He rushed towards his partner.

"I found Taichi's friends a bit that way. They said they would help us." The small Digimon said proudly.

Daisuke smiled and patted him on the head.

"Good job V-mon. Do you know who they are?" He asked.

"Koushiro and Tentomon." He said.

"Ara?" Miyako asked behind him. "Is his full name Izumi Koushiro, by any chance?"

V-mon looked at her and shrugged.

"Maybe?" He said.

Hikari answered in his place.

"Yeah, that's Koushiro."

"You know him, Miyako?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah, he used to be the president of the computer club. I haven't seen him since he graduated, though." She replied thoughtfully.

Takeru opened his mouth to elaborate when he was rudely interrupted by…

A buzzing sound?

He slowly looked it, dreading, but still expecting what he was about to find.

Kuwagamon hovered above them.

A Dark Ring was wrapped around his waist.

"Guys…" He began. "We have a problem."

**XxXXxX**

"More than you know." The Kaiser said, watching carefully. "We're just getting started."

He spun his chair, turning towards another screen. He touched several buttons in quick succession.

His finger hovered over the final button as he turned his head to look back at the Chosen.

He smiled as he saw what he was waiting for.

His finger fell with the finality of an executioners axe.

**XxXXxX**

"Daisuke, the Digimental!" V-mon cried.

"Right!" His partner replied, reaching into his jacket to grab his Digivice.

Suddenly, the ground shook so hard he was knocked off his feet and he was falling. He winced as he hit the ground-

Only to have it break to pieces beneath him and leave him to continue falling.

Daisuke screamed as he managed to clutch at the chasms wall. He look looked down beneath him into the seemingly bottomless darkness.

Something looked back.

Drimogemon climbed slowly up the caverns wall, advancing on the hanging Chosen.

"Daisuke!" V-mon shouted fearfully from the top of the new hole. He'd apparently been able to keep himself from falling in.

Which was good for him, but it left Daisuke hanging. Literally and figuratively.

V-Mon snapped his head to look away as he heard something.

His eyes widened at the sight.

Mojyamon lumbered into view.

Scratch that. It left them both hanging.

"Hone Hone Boomerang!" Mojyamon shouted, throwing his bone club.

V-mon tried to dodge, but he was way, way too slow. His eyesight blurred as the makeshaft boomerang impacted with his head and sent him over the edge.

"V-mon!" Daisuke screamed as his partner flew past him.

He did the only thing he could think of.

He pushed off of the canyon wall and grabbed his partner.

The duo fell together.

And the other Chosen could do nothing but watch as they were swallowed up by the darkness of the depths.

**XxXXxX**

"N-no way. T-they got sucked into the ground." Miyako stuttered.

"W-we have to help them." Iori said, though his body was shaking.

Miyako nodded her head in jolted movements, and they both rushed forward-

An arm wrapped around Iori's waist and lifted him off the ground while a hand grabbed Miyako's and pulled her away from to hole.

"Come on!" Koushiro, shouted. "We have to get away from here!"

"But Daisuke-!" Iori protested helplessly from his place on the elder Chosen's shoulder.

"Scissor Arms!" Kuwagamon cried.

"Hone Hone Boomerang!" Mojyamon followed his ally's advance.

Tailmon did her best to dodge, and due to her small size and great mobility, for the most part she succeeded.

But between fighting two Adult level Digimon who both had greater range than her, she was being forced completely on the defensive.

Patamon and Tentomon tried to assist her, but, for the most part, the two Adults simply ignored them both, allowing their attacks to impact harmlessly.

"Without Fladramon, Tailmon can't win this fight and if we get caught, then there will be no one left to save Daisuke!" Koushiro replied frantically.

Mojyamon noticed them and Koushiro was terrifyingly aware of his attention.

He tugged Miyako into a run.

"Come on, hurry up!"

**XxXXxX**

"Your Digivices are reacting?" Koushiro said, running through the forest.

Miyako nodded, gasping for breath. She was amazed to note that Koushiro wasn't the slightest bit affected by their run, nor were Takeru and Hikari.

Koushiro frowned.

"Our Digivices gave us a general location but…let me see yours." He ordered, holding out a hand.

She handed her Digivice to him.

"Hm. These readings are more precise, to be sure." He said. "I'm almost certain these reactions are from Digimentals. Tentomon?"

"I found the Digimentals location earlier. At least, the general source of the signal. But…I only sensed one." The Insect Digimon said.

Koushiro's frown deepened.

"There are two readings on this Digivice." He stated. "And two new Chosen."

Koushiro started to put things together in his head.

"Daisuke's Digimental was 'Courage.' Assuming their based on the Crests, do you think the one you were sensing was…?"

"There's only one way to find out." Takeru said, brushing past Koushiro as he slowed down in thought. He was literally carrying Iori.

"Koushiro, I know you like puzzles, but may I remind you we're still being chased by two Adult level Digimon?" Hikari said, grabbing Miyako's hand as she passed and pulling her with her.

Kuwagamon roared in the distance.

"Right." He said, shaking himself from his thoughts. "Put the pieces together _after_ saving our lives. Got it."

**XxXXxX**

"What's that?" Hikari asked, the first one into the clearing.

In the other's defense, they had a head start on Koushiro and Takeru was carrying someone half his size.

Miyako, who'd been pulled into a run the entire distance, recognized it. She took a minute to catch her breath and replied.

"It looks like a Mayan Pyramid." She said, before checking her Digivice. "The signals are coming from inside."

"Then shouldn't we go inside?" Iori asked.

"We should, but…" Takeru began, frowning.

"It's kind of weird, isn't it?" Koushiro agreed, thinking the same thing.

"What is?" Miyako asked.

"Well, it's possibly we could have out run Mojyamon, or at least lost him in the forest, but…" Takeru began

"Kuwagamon can fly." Koushiro said. "He might not have been able to find us through the canopy of the forest, but…we're in a clearing now, aren't we?"

"Scissor Arms!" Kuwagamon eloquently expressed his agreement.

**XxXXxX**

Miyako and Iori ran for the Pyramid.

Well, to be specific, the others had pushed them towards it and made them run.

It was understandable; they didn't have partners yet. They would be defenseless without one.

Though, only Tailmon had any chance of actually standing up to Kuwagamon; Koushiro and Takeru were basically defenseless even with partners.

Just relatively less defenseless then the two of them.

All they had to do was get into the tower, find two eggs, and pick them up, Koushiro had said.

Simple.

"Hone Hone Boomerang!" Mojyamon shouted, dashing into the clearing.

Apparently they hadn't lost either of them.

Simple he'd said.

Yeah, right.

Miyako screamed as she tackled Iori to the ground. The boomerang flew right over them.

"Miyako!" Hikari shouted fearfully.

"Get inside the Pyramid!" Koushiro screamed. "Finding the Digimentals are your only hope!"

MIyako swallowed. Getting into the Pyramid before Mojyamon crushes her?

She didn't like her odds.

But since her odds of surviving if she stayed where she was were even lower, she picked herself up, grabbed Iori's hand, and started up the stairs, taking them three at a time.

It probably saved her life. Due to her moving at an upward angle quickly, Mojyamon's next two attacks missed as by the time the boomerang reached its destination, they were long gone.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Mojyamon quickly realized why his attacks were missing and changed strategies.

They were barely two steps into the Pyramid when a thunderous crash echoed from behind them.

Miyako didn't want to glance back, well aware that she wasn't going to like what she saw.

But she did so anyway.

And she didn't like what she saw.

Mojyamon had covered the distance between his former location some ways away from the Pyramid and the entrance to the room at the top in a single bound.

He hefted his bone and Miyako just knew that this was the end. He couldn't possibly miss at this range.

But then a miracle happened.

"Fireball!" Someone shouted.

Sure enough, a fireball blew through the space between her and Iori and plowed right into Mojyamon. It lifted him from his feet, threw him from the top of the pyramid, and flung him to the earth below.

"Hey. You okay?" Someone asked.

She turned towards the voice, hardly believing she was still alive.

It was a young boy with brown hair and red eyes. He wore a jacket and fingerless gloves, but she barely glanced at his wardrobe as something much more interesting drew her attention.

By his side stood a large red reptile with a white belly and black markings.

A Digimon. Meaning…

She looked at the boy again.

Another Chosen.

"You looked like you needed a hand." He continued, apparently not noticing her attention.

"W-who are you?" Iori asked, still a bit shaken by his near death experience.

"Ah! I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I'm Matsuda Takato. And this…" He said, laying a hand on the Digimon's head. "Is Guilmon. I wish we could have met under better circumstances. Are you here for those eggs?"

That jolted Miyako into action.

"The Digimentals! Where are they?" She asked.

"Back that way; you can't miss them, they're on an altar and everything. I tried to lift them, but…" He trailed off with a shrug.

"Can you show us?" Iori asked, probably thinking of how he'd blown Mojyamon away with a single attack and wanting to keep him around in case someone else showed up.

"Sure, no problem. Who are you, though?" Takato asked, turning around and walking deeper into the room.

"Hida Iori. This is my friend Inoue Miyako. If possible, we need to do this quickly; our friends are out there fighting right now."

Takato nodded to himself and smiled.

"I'll show you to the Digimentals and then go help your friends. Don't worry." He said with a smile.

Miyako sighed in relief.

He seemed like a friend.

**XxXXxX**

Takato ran out of the Pyramid, leaving the two new Chosen behind with their new partners.

He tried to keep any of the nervousness he felt off of his face, but it was difficult and he wasn't sure he succeeded.

This was risky. Very, very risky.

But at the same time, if it worked…

This must have been what real spies felt like; to be constantly stuck between great danger and even greater reward.

Or maybe that was just Lucemon talking; after he'd filled the Angel in, he'd somehow acquired a stereo and taken to playing the song Secret Agent Man constantly.

Takato was aware it was probably an attempt to make fun of him, but since his ability to speak English barely deserved to be called such, he didn't get it and didn't care.

Regardless, if he could make this work, it would work out wonderfully for him. He could help 'guide' the Chosen towards the 'right' conclusions; i.e. the conclusions that benefited him most. If something came up that could reveal his role in everything, he'd be in a position to react. He could poison the Chosen against the Kaiser even more than they already were. And he could spot…unfortunate developments early on and deal with them accordingly.

Which is to say, if something or someone started messing with his plans, he'd know who to kill.

Still, it was dangerous, because if it didn't work, he'd give himself away. It was made worse by the fact that he wasn't a great actor or liar. Originally, he'd gone wild with elaborate cover stories and secret identities.

He'd then shown them to Lucemon, who'd promptly facepalmed.

'Takato, if you're not sure you can lie convincingly, don't lie at all. This is your cover story: Your name is Matsuda Takato, you're from Shinjuku, and you entered the Digital World several days ago using a computer after receiving a strange device and you met your partner shortly afterwards when he hatched from an egg. You're fighting the Kaiser after school. If they ask you anything else, tell them the truth as long as it doesn't concern you being their enemy; avoid that question by not acting like their enemy. If they get suspicious about how you know so much, tell them you have a friend on the other side of the portal who helps you, but isn't a Chosen. Got it? Good.'

And so that was his cover story. It was all true, though a few details were left out. Hopefully it would keep him from being found out.

Now all he had to do was keep from doing anything obviously suspicious.

Growmon was out; he wasn't sure how much Taichi and Yamato had seen. They were pretty far away when Sora was shot down; did they see anything important? He wasn't sure yet; he'd have to think of a way to raise the issue. If they told him about Sora's condition, maybe he could ask if they saw who hit her.

Speaking of Sora; she had been even further away then the boys, but she'd had a bird's eye view. What had she seen?

No, Growmon was too risky right now. He'd stick with Guilmon. Luckily, Guilmon was more than strong enough to deal with Adults.

But wouldn't that be suspicious, too? Such a strong Child…Should he pass him off as an Adult like Tailmon?

No, let's not get ahead of things yet; if they asked, he'd think of something or feign obliviousness.

He shouldn't use cards, either; that'd raise all sorts of alarms. Especially if they saw his Meramon card…

Guilmon would have to fight alone for awhile.

Speaking of which, now would be a good time to start earning some trust. The three Chosen outside were having trouble with their Adult opponents; mainly because Tentomon and Patamon couldn't do anything worth noting, so it was two-on-one.

Takato did some quick thinking.

Tailmon didn't have any ranged attacks that he knew of; would explain why Kuwagamon was basically unharmed. Guilmon could take him out with his Fireball though. He could probably take Mojyamon out, too, but that could be suspicious.

So he'd take Kuwagamon out while she dealt with Mojyamon…

He nodded to himself.

"Guilmon, see that bug up there? That's Kuwagamon. I need you to destroy the ring on him. Leave Mojyamon alone, though; let the cat handle him. Can you do that?" He asked.

Guilmon's only response was to leap high into the air, bypassing the stairs of the Pyramid entirely, and landing in a crouch.

By the time everyone turned to look at the new arrival, red light was beginning to escape from his jaws.

He had eyes only for Kuwagamon.

"Good boy." Takato said, looking down from above. He slowly sat on the steps of the staircase.

This wouldn't take long.

**XxXXxX**

The red beast fell from the sky and left destruction in its wake.

The Chosen had no idea what was going on, but…

It seemed to be on their side, maybe?

Koushiro wasn't convinced; things in the Digital World were rarely as they seemed.

But he couldn't deny that the creature was helping them, at least right now.

The creature had landed in a crouch and was running as soon as it dealt with the impact. Red light spilt from between his teeth –which Koushiro couldn't help but notice were very large – and fire followed in its wake.

"Fireball!"

The attack burnt through the air, heading straight for Kuwagamon. It took him in the chest and-

And blew him out of the sky.

The red Digimon was beside Tailmon a moment later, blocking an attack from Mojyamon's club with the side of his arm.

If being hit by a weapon bigger then he was hurt, the creature didn't show it.

He didn't seem bothered by being staring down by an opponent twice his size, either.

Instead, he grabbed the club with his other hand, and-

And he swung it around with one hand, Mojyamon and all.

Koushiro just had to kind of stare at that one.

Was this guy the partner of one of the new Chosen? Or an Armor evolution?

Wait…

Mojyamon had been blown out of the tower just a minute ago in a flash of red light. Meaning-

Koushiro's eyes widened.

Either he was a partner Digimon that had been waiting like V-mon, or…

He'd been in the tower before they'd entered.

He stared closely at the ferocity this new arrival was showing.

Brutally efficient, he noted. With emphasis of brutal.

Mojyamon's body slammed into a tree as he finally lost his grip on his club and sailed away.

Koushiro tensed.

If he wasn't on their side, they'd find out now. If he was a new enemy, then his help could be explained as removing the two biggest threats first. Tailmon was strong, but she'd been fighting two on one all day, against two opponents with ranged attacks at that. One was stuck on the ground, so she could at least get into his range and fight back, but one was airborne, and she couldn't really do anything against him.

She was exhausted.

In that case, it made sense to save her for last.

Would he attack, though?

Did he even want to know?

"Takeru…" Koushiro whispered to the younger Chosen. "Now would be a good time to send Patamon to check up on the newbies."

Takeru nodded silently, also looking at the red Digimon, he was waving his new club experimentally.

"Patamon." He said.

"On it." His partner replied.

"I'll go too; there's not much I can do here. You two…this might be a good time to leave." Tentomon said. "I'll find you…somehow."

"Takeru!" Patamon suddenly shouted, drawing their attention.

They easily figured out the reason for his cry.

There was someone they didn't know lounging on the steps of the Pyramid.

Koushiro quickly looked him over, filing him away.

He was a boy about the same age as the Chosen and he was wearing Goggles as well. He had brown hair and red eyes. Fair complexion? Hard to tell at a distance, but he thought so. Couldn't really tell since he was sitting down, but Koushiro put him about average height. He wore a jacket over his shirt and had fingerless gloves. Koushiro couldn't really see someone wearing that outfit normally, so he chalked it up to whatever changed the new Chosen's clothing.

He deduced he was the partner of this new Digimon, since he didn't seem at all bothered by what was happening. Koushiro didn't recognize him, though, leaving two possibilities.

He was either a new Chosen or the Kaiser.

But…

If he was the Kaiser, why attack his own servants? It didn't make sense, so he was most likely a new Chosen.

But that didn't mean he was on their side.

So it was with caution that Koushiro turned towards the boy, who was lying on the stairs like a cat, stretched out and seemingly extremely comfortable.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Matsuda Takato." The boy said, waving lazily before nodding towards the creature. "And that's my partner Guilmon. Say hello, boy."

"Hello." A shockingly childish voice said, complying.

Koushiro looked at its source (and it's huge claws and great teeth and scaled hide) disbelievingly.

"Sorry about interrupting your fight, Tailmon." The boy continued. "But you looked like you needed a hand. I asked Guilmon to deal with Kuwagamon and let you handle Mojyamon, but, well, I guess I raised him a bit too well, huh? He's too chivalrous to just let a lady fight an armed opponent. I'll have to talk to him before he starts ripping doors off their hinges to let you through."

"I'm sorry." The creature, Guilmon, said sadly, looking at his feet.

Takato waved his words away.

"I'm just kidding Guilmon. It's not a problem. Still…why don't you leave Mojyamon to Tailmon and go deal with Kuwagamon. She should be fine now that you've disarmed him."

"Okay." Guilmon said, nodding happily. He hesitated after a few steps, though, looking at his partner.

Takato chuckled.

"Yes, Guilmon; you can keep the club if you want too."

That seemed to make Guilmon happy and he bounced towards the slowly rising Kuwagamon.

Takato and Koushiro's eyes met a moment later and the younger Chosen gestured for him to sit beside him on the stairs.

Koushiro hesitated, but since his worries about Guilmon had been put to rest, if only temporarily, curiosity won over.

"Not worried?" He asked, taking a seat.

"Who? About Guilmon? Of course not. Aren't friends supposed to believe in each other?" He asked looking at the older Chosen. "I believe in Guilmon. I believe…that he won't lose to anyone."

"You have a lot of faith in your partner." Koushiro noted.

"Faith in Guilmon is faith well placed." Takato dismissed before changing the subject. "Your friends are fine, by the way. I dealt with Mojyamon when he tried to attack them."

"So that was you…" Koushiro mused. "But…what were you doing up there in the first place?"

"Hm? I was trying to get the Digimentals. But…I couldn't pick them up. I showed Miyako and Iori to them, though. Maybe they'll have better luck."

"You're being very helpful. Thank you." Takeru said. Koushiro looked at him, wondering if there was a double meaning behind those words.

His eyes seemed sincere, though…

"It's no problem. You guys are fighting the Kaiser, right?"

Takeru nodded.

"Then we're on the same side." Takato stated, extending a hand. "Please be kind to me."

Takeru took it and shook it.

Koushiro opened his mouth to say something else when-

Was that a bird with wings on its head?

"Oh, cool." Takato said calmly. "It looks just like the Digimental with the heart on it."

The Crest of Love, Koushiro thought, then-

"An Armor evolution?" He wondered.

"I guess they could pick up their eggs." Takeru said, squinting. "Is that Miyako?"

"Looks like it." Takato said. "If Iori managed to pick up the other one, we'll have two Adults and two Armors on our side. I'd say this one is in the bag."

"But that still leaves Daisuke…" Takeru said. He quickly realized that Takato wouldn't know about what had happened to the other Chosen or even who he was. "He was captured by the Kaiser."

"Oh." Takato said. "I guess we'll need to do something about that, won't we?"

**XxXXxX**

"Damn it!" Daisuke shouted as he struggling against his bonds even though he knew it was futile. "Let V-mon go! And give me back my Digivice, too!"

He briefly wondered how the Kaiser had managed to place these bonds on the side of a cliff with such short notice. Not to mention that sliding door of solid rock and those metal arm things.

"I think this should go without saying, but I'm not going to do that." The Kaiser said, looking down on him in every sense of the word. "Consider it your punishment for trespassing in my area."

Daisuke sputtered at that.

"Your area! Since when! This isn't your area, dude." Daisuke pointed out.

"Of course it is." The Kaiser said, dismissively. "This entire world is mine."

Daisuke looked up at him silently for a minute before replying.

"You have problems, man."

The Kaiser frowned down at his captive.

"And you're about to watch your own Digimon become my slave." He informed him, snapping his fingers.

A Evil Ring began to move towards V-mon in response in response.

"Stop that!" Daisuke ordered.

"Ignore the megalomaniac, Daisuke." V-mon attempted to placate his partner. He looked back up at the Kaiser, distinctly unimpressed. Compared to his adventures with Ryou, this guy was nothing special.

Though…now that he had nothing better to do then stare at his face, the Kaiser looked strangely familiar…

He shook himself and continued as the ring approached.

"Heh…you're free to try." He told the Kaiser. "But there's no way I'd ever become your slave."

"What did you say?" The Kaiser said, annoyed.

He wasn't used to his enemies being this uppity when he'd already won.

"I've waited a long time…I've waited to meet Daisuke…So, how could I become your slave now that I've met him?" V-mon said. "If you think you can actually do it, go ahead. Just don't cry if you lose."

"V-mon…" Daisuke said.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." The Kaiser said, reverting back to his normal smug expression.

"Let's not, and say we did, shall we?" A voice none of them had heard before said.

"Fireball!"

A ball of glowing red flew through the air and obliterated the ring.

"What?" The Kaiser gasped.

But not at the destruction of the ring.

"Sup." The brown haired boy standing behind him said. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're the Kaiser. What do you think, Guilmon?"

The beast by his side growled.

**XxXXxX**

"Daisuke!" Miyako shouted to her fellow Chosen as she soared through the sky on the back of her new found partner.

"Miyako!" Daisuke shouted in return, smiling in relief; both at her safety and her sudden appearance.

The wall affixing V-mon began to crack before suddenly exploding in a burst of data.

V-mon didn't even begin to fall before two black hands grabbed a hold of him.

"We're here to save you!" Digmon said.

V-mon smiled up at the Digimon he would be working beside from now on.

"Thanks!" He said, meaning it completely.

"Iori!" Daisuke said, drawing their attention. His face looked serious. "Who's that guy up there?"

Iori, who had just emerged from tunneling underground, had to look up to check who he was talking about, even though he had a pretty good idea already. In the seconds it took for him to do that, Miyako replied in his stead.

The benefits of a Birdseye view.

"That's Takato." She said. "He's a friend. He's been fighting the Kaiser. We met him when we reached the Digimentals."

Daisuke relaxed at that.

"So he's on our side?" He said. "At the rate we're getting allies, things are beginning to look up."

"It probably has something to do with the Kaiser being a slave driving Tyrant." Iori stated knowledgably as Digmon hovered towards Daisuke to undo his bonds.

"Thanks…" Daisuke realized he didn't know the name of Iori's partner yet and so finished lamely. "Iori's partner."

V-mon coughed into his hand, but Daisuke managed to make out the muffled words easily enough.

"Digmon." He immediately corrected himself, nodding gratefully towards V-mon.

His partner silently gave him a thumbs up.

**XxXXxX**

Takato's smile had more than a bit of steel in it, as expected for someone who was contemplating murder.

To kill the Kaiser or not to kill the Kaiser, that is the question.

On one hand, if he died, the cat would be out of the bag, the Chosen would know that he was, at the very least, morally questionable, and though he could probably spin this as an accident or the only way or something, that would require acting skills that he didn't have. They might take it well or they might take it badly; he didn't know the Chosen well enough to judge their response.

Basically, if he offed a Boss character in several days, what would Lucemon do? Would there be somebody waiting in the wings? Somebody stronger than the Kaiser?

But on the other hand…

If he killed the Kaiser, the Kaiser would be dead. A major antagonist, gone easily. Unless this guy suddenly turned into a giant monster or developed superpowers, Guilmon could kill him in, like two seconds. Baring unknown enemies, which he was well aware probably existed, since this was a video game, that meant that the only problem left would be the Chosen. They had three Armor levels with them right now, plus Tailmon…

Could Growmon kill all of them at the same time?

He was considering it and…he had faith in Growmon. Yes, he could crush them all.

Would there be some downside to it? Is there something he wasn't considering?

He was torn from his thoughts as a giant green caterpillar jumped between him and the Kaiser.

"I won't let you touch Ken-chan!" The thing said in a childish voice.

Takato stared at him quietly for a moment. And the thought of him fighting Guilmon…

Takato had to laugh.

The Kaiser's Digimon jumped towards him.

Takato noticed, but didn't care.

He knew exactly how this was going to end.

A red fist collided with its face, flinging him backwards into the Kaiser.

There's a reason you don't read suspense novels with the premise of small insects versus dinosaurs, after all.

It briefly looked like the Kaiser would fall down the side of the cliff, to which Takato responded by gazing on silently.

If he fell, he fell, and there was one less NPC to deal with.

But sadly, he managed to recover his balance just in time, though he dropped the Digivice and D-Terminal in his hand. Daisuke's, he supposed.

Miyako flew by quickly, catching the devices and they fell.

"Thanks!"

Takato wondered if she realized how close she had been to catching a falling person instead. He also wondered what would have happened.

The Kaiser's eyes, which had widened in fear just a second, narrowed in anger as they looked at him.

"Out of my way!" He snapped, lashing out with his whip at Guilmon.

The blow took the red Digimon across the face.

Guilmon didn't even react to the blow.

Takato figured he didn't even feel it, but…

He couldn't stop his eyes from narrowing.

"Guilmon…" He said, his voice low. "Get rid of him, would you."

A growl of consent was his only reply.

**XxXXxX**

"Come out!" They heard the Kaiser shout, his voice a bit high pitched.

The Chosen were confused for a moment, both at the panic in his voice and the words themselves, but it quickly became obvious what he was referring to as the ground began to rumble.

The sound of drilling reached their ears moments later as Drimogemon broke through the ground.

Daisuke blinked in confusion for a moment at that, before suddenly smirking.

"Oh this is just great. V-mon and I owe this guy one." Daisuke explained.

"Be that as it may," Iori said, the voice of reason. "If it's a subterranean battle, Digmon and I are a better choice. Let us handle this one, Daisuke."

Daisuke opened his mouth to protest, but merely sighed instead when he was unable to come up with a viable complaint.

"You're right; do your best, Iori." He said.

He glanced around, looking to see if there was anything else and not finding it.

He turned towards Miyako.

"I guess we should go help Takato?" He suggested.

She shrugged and looked like she was about to speak when a sudden crash interrupted her before she could even begin.

They turned to look, only to find-

A giant snowman?

Daisuke and Miyako turned to look at each other again, this time with matching expressions of disbelief.

"His name's Yukidarumon." V-mon supplied. "Adult level, Vaccine type, and an Icy Digimon. This should be pretty obvious, but, well, he uses Ice attacks."

Daisuke looked down at his partner and shook his head.

"We'll take this Miyako, on the condition that you don't tell anyone that we beat up a snowman after school."

"My lips are sealed." She promised. This world was getting weirder and weirder. "But where did he come from, anyway?"

"It sounded like he fell." Daisuke said distractedly, taking back his Digivice and D-Terminal from Miyako. "Digimental up!"

Miyako paused for a minute to watch V-mon evolve and move towards the advancing snowman.

"Yeah, but…do sentient attack snowmen just fall out of the sky in this world?" She asked, scanning the sky's for either the more Snowmen or for wherever Yukidarumon came from.

"That would be possible if, say, the Universe hated us." Holsmon chimed in. "But for the time being, let us assume that there's something up there."

"It's probably another Digimon." Daisuke said. "The Kaiser seems to be reverting to the advantage of numbers."

Daisuke frowned suddenly.

"Hey, Yukidarumon is a fighter that uses Ice attacks, while Fladramon is a fighter that uses fire attacks. Do you think the Kaiser brought this guy specifically to fight us?" Daisuke asked thoughtfully.

Miyako frowned at that.

"And Drimogemon is an understandable counterpart for Digmon. You don't think…?"

Daisuke shook his head.

"Drimogemon showed up before Digmon. Unless the Kaiser can see the future, there should be no way of him planning that."

Miyako nodded, but as she looked up, she wondered if she was going to have to fight an aerial opponent.

And if she was, what did that mean?

**XxXXxX**

Takato watched silently as Yukidarumon fell from the sky.

The Armor Digimon were new to him, so he didn't have any information about them. It was a bit worrying, really, but he always reminded himself that Growmon was monstrously powerful, and that it didn't matter.

Still, if he killed the Kaiser, he might have to kill them next. So while they fought, he'd have to keep an eye on them, just in case they had some tricks he didn't know about.

Regardless, it was nice to see some Digimon he recognized on sight. Yukidarumon; he remembered him from the first season. He was pretty sure he had a card of him somewhere. An interesting choice on the Kaiser's part regardless.

Maybe trying to exploit the classic fire vs. ice thing?

It was unlikely to work, though; Fladramon was powerful enough to win and even Takato knew what happened when ice got hot.

The Kaiser probably knew that, too, so why bother? Was he just testing the Chosen? Was he looking for weak points?

Holsmon blew past him, flying up the cliff. He followed her with his eyes.

He'd seen Yukidarumon drop, so he knew there was something in the sky, but it was nice to know he wasn't going to have to deal with it himself.

He wanted to focus on the Kaiser.

"Ken-chan, was it?" Takato asked.

"Don't call me that." He said through gritted teeth.

Takato ignored him utterly.

"Having reinforcements was wise, but…it looks like it won't help you now. They'll take care of your slaves and…"

He dropped his gaze back to the Kaiser and smiled brightly at him.

"We'll deal with you."

Guilmon took that as his signal to move forward as Takato continued speaking.

"Honestly…I'm a bit disappointed. I mean, I heard about you. The Digimon Kaiser, the man enslaving the Digital World. I figured…yeah, it's pretty childish, but…I guess I was expecting a giant, fearsome warrior or something. You know, pitch black armor, shoulder spikes, pyrotechnics; the works. But…" Takato shook his head. "Ken-chan? I was expecting something like Genocidicles or some other name to run away from. But…yeah, I'm kind of disappointed. You're just a kid my age with a massive superiority complex."

The Kaiser was insulted by that, and in any other situation that would have earned Takato a lash of his whip at least. But he was a bit distracted by the large red monster that was walking towards him and looking at him like he was a piece of meat.

"You…you're the one that destroyed my Tower." Ken realized.

It wasn't a question.

Takato lifted an eyebrow at that.

"Wow, look at the brain on Ken-chan. Figured that out did you?" Takato said, unworried. He'd been aware that Lucemon had been antagonizing the Kaiser; it didn't really matter if he knew he was responsible for destroying towers. As long as he wasn't connected to the killings, it was fine. He'd originally planned to deceive the Kaiser into believing the Chosen did that, but…

It didn't really matter at this point, did it?

"I-I won't let you…touch…Ken-chan…" A voice interrupted his train of thought.

Takato frowned at Wormmon.

"Quiet, you. Now that our roles are reversed, I'm trying to take this chance to blather on inanely for no real reason like everybody else does; if you have anything to say, wait until I'm done." Takato stated before catching himself. "Actually, you know what? I am going overboard; the grandstanding was fun while it lasted, but let's not go crazy here. Let's move this along. I'm done with my monologue, Guilmon; kill them both and start with the Kaiser."

Ken stiffened abruptly.

"You wouldn't." He said, though he wasn't sure.

"Oh, really? Hm…" Takato asked thoughtfully. "Guilmon, blow off his head to prove that he's wrong."

"Fireball!" Guilmon replied by way of response.

At that point, several things happened at once.

The Kaiser screamed. Takato amusedly noted it was kind of high pitched; for someone who thought so highly of himself, the Kaiser didn't seem that impressive now.

Wormmon screamed, too, but for different reasons. He shouted his partner's name, but it was hard to tell through all the other noises. He tried to jump into the path of the attack. Takato thought that was pretty impressive, but it didn't really change the fact that Fireball would blow straight through him and continue on its path.

But when a bright light bathed the area in response to their screams, Takato had to shut his eyes.

"Wormmon, shinka!"

Takato was barely able to make it out, but he managed.

In response, he just frowned.

Really, Lucemon? Right before dying, the boss revealed his true form? It's like he's not even _trying_ to be subtle.

Oh, well.

It wouldn't really be a boss battle otherwise.

"Hey, Guilmon, check it out." He said. "A challenger has appeared."

Guilmon growled as the light faded.

"Stingmon!" Wormmon's evolved form shouted his name to the heavens.

**XxXXxX**

"Zettai Reido Punch!" Yukidarumon attacked first, sending a blast of ice at his opponent.

"Fire vs. Ice, huh…" Fladramon said, unworried. His right hand and claws sudden began to glow with heat.

He lifted it to block the attack, literally catching it and-

It vaporized on contact.

"No problem." Fladramon said. "Knuckle Fire!"

He fired four blasts of flame at his opponent. He purposely held back so as to not hurt the innocent Digimon, but as for the ring…

Yukidarumon screamed in pain as the flames washed over him. The Evil Ring binding his will exploded in an instant.

Fladramon smirked.

"Using ice against fire…don't think you have a chance against me with such an outdated strategy!"

**XxXXxX**

Holsmon carried Miyako above the clouds as she clung to his back for her life. And as he broke through the clouds, he saw his opponent.

"Who's that?" Miyako asked.

Holsmon narrowed his eyes.

"Airdramon…"

The controlled Airdramon obviously wasn't feeling chatty, so it skipped straight to battle.

"God Tornado!" It cried, releasing a swirling blast of fire from its mouth.

"Mach Impulse!" Holsmon replied, sending to shockwaves from his wings.

He quite literally split the flames, clearing a path to his enemy. He stared at Airdramon with eyes like daggers.

Literally.

"Red Sun!" Holsmon fired two beams of red light at the Airdramon. They hit him head on, knocking him down, and for a moment Airdramon fell.

But the Dragon quickly recovered and counterattacked.

"Spinning Needle!"

Airdramon flapped its wings and the displaced air quickly began to swirl into a whirlwind. An effort of will was all that was needed to hurl it at Holsmon.

Miyako's partner merely narrowed its cold eyes.

"Hang on, Miyako!" He said gruffly.

Miyako tightened her hold on her partner, not sure what he intended to do, but having no desire to fall.

"Tempest Wing!"

Holsmon flew at great speed towards the whirlwind and began to spin. The air around him instantly began to spin with him and in seconds he was surrounded with a whirlwind of his own. The two tempests clashed a moment later and it seemed for a moment like they were equal.

For a moment.

And in the next, Holsmon pierced through like a bullet from a railgun. And he did not stop then, but carved a path through the clouds of the sky, a storm for the one who attacked him.

He slammed into Airdramon a moment later and the ring broke like it was made of paper.

Holsmon didn't give the freed Digimon a second glance. He had bigger things to worry about.

Miyako had lost her grip moments into his spin.

He dove towards the Earth, reaching terminal velocity in half a second and only getting faster. He passed by a screaming Miyako in seconds and spun again.

"Tempest Wing!"

The suddenly moving air quickly fought against Miyako's momentum, slowing her down. When he judged her speed to be low enough to avoid harm, Holsmon stopped spinning and gently caught her on his back.

"I'm sorry, Miyako; are you alright?"

She was breathing hard, but after a moment she replied with a smile.

"Of course, since I have you here to catch me when I fall." She said, gently stroking Holsmon's fur.

"Of course." Was his only reply.

**XxXXxX**

Drimogemon's drill nose spun as he dug through the earth. He carved out a path so quickly that he was literally able to run through the tunnels. He intended to carve out a new tunnel, reestablish the element of surprise, and attack Digmon.

And so it was with no small degree of shock that broke into a large cavern underground.

But that didn't make any sense; he'd examined this area earlier. This cavern shouldn't have been here, but then why…

Drimogemon's red eyes widened.

Digmon stood across from him, on the other side of the cavern. And as Drimogemon looked at him, he noticed the freshly upturned piles of dirt nearby.

Was this place…freshly dug.

If he could, Digmon would have smirked.

"Gold Rush!" He said instead, firing all of his drills at his opponent.

Drimogemon tried to dodge, but it seemed like this cavern had been specifically designed to hinder his movements.

Which it was.

The rocket-powered drills all met their targets, shattering his ring.

Digmon's gave his drills a smug spin as they returned to him.

"Good job, Digmon." Iori said.

"It was a piece of cake."

**XxXXxX**

Stingmon wasn't in the mood to chat.

Since Guilmon wasn't one to play with his food, this suited him just fine, and so they both skipped straight to trying to kill each other.

"Spiking Finish!"

Stingmon quickly proved that he was the faster of the pair, extending one of his glowing spikes and blurring through the air.

But even if he was slower, the fact remained that Stingmon had to cover five meters, while Guilmon only had to lift one of his arms to block.

Guilmon's eye twitched as the spike smashed into his armored hide. It didn't pierce, but he still felt the force behind the impact.

Takato quickly picked up on that, frowned down at his own arm for a moment before barking an order.

"Guilmon, avoid melee combat!" He said.

"Fire Grenade!" Was Guilmon's reply.

He spat from his mouth a layered Fireball, which took Stingmon in the chest and detonated with explosive force.

Stingmon and Guilmon were both flung away by the explosion, though only Stingmon was injured. Guilmon was unharmed since the blast didn't connect directly and because of his thick skin.

Of course, Guilmon wasn't the type to pass up an opportunity, so when he saw Stingmon trying to recover from his wounds, he immediately attempted to inflict more.

"Fire Breath!"

This time, instead of releasing a ball of flame, Guilmon exhaled a torrent of fire.

Takato silently watched, seeing both of those new attacks. Those were new, at least to him.

He must have leveled up, he thought to himself.

But he was only half paying attention. Unless something really unexpected happened, Guilmon should win a one-on-one fight with an Adult of the same Type.

As such, there were other things that he needed to worry about.

Holsmon had defeated Airdramon. From Daisuke's cheers, Fladramon had also defeated his opponent. Digmon and Iori were currently out of sight, but unless he was weaker than the other two Armor evolutions, he should probably have also defeated his opponent. Takato didn't remember anything particularly amazing about Drimogemon…

In which case, they'd all be here soon.

That was fine, after all, if he killed the Kaiser, he didn't really need them anymore, so them coming to him really just made things easier. But if they got here before he did, they might interfere…

Even if he broke out Growmon, what if the Kaiser got away in the confusion? Holsmon can fly, too; what about him?

Could he get rid of them all without missing anybody?

"Takato!" A voice cried behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Hikari, Takeru, and Koushiro running towards him.

Damn…more variables.

"Guilmon, crush him." He ordered. One way or another, this would get complicated if 'enemies' and 'allies' were both running all over the place. The less he had to worry about, the better.

**XxXXxX**

"There's Takato." Koushiro said. "He's fighting someone…There's another human nearby!"

"The Kaiser?" Hikari asked.

"Maybe. I don't know what he looks like." Koushiro said, shrugging. "Guilmon's fighting a bug thing. Another enslaved Digimon?"

"Probably…" Takeru said, trailing off as he looked around. "That's Miyako up there…and I see Daisuke down there…where's Iori?"

Koushiro frowned at that, looking for the youngest Chosen.

"I don't see him, but…he could still be under ground. We'll try to find him later. First things first."

Tailmon nodded and spoke.

"If that's really the Kaiser, he has priority. Even if he's not, Daisuke and Miyako aren't fighting anyone right now, meaning Takato's the only one in immediate danger."

"Takeru, Koushiro, you two check on Miyako and Daisuke and bring them to help." Hikari said. "We'll help Takato."

Takeru opened his mouth to protest before closing it, clinching his fists. Koushiro looked at her silently for a moment before nodding.

**XxXXxX**

"Takato!" Hikari said, stopped some five meters behind him. "Is this the Kaiser?"

Takato looked over his shoulder at her with eyes she couldn't read.

"Seems that way. I'm not sure, though; I thought he'd be more impressive." He replied, eyes softening after a moment. "Where are the others? Koushiro and Takeru were with you, right?"

"Yeah; they're checking on the others. They should be back in a little bit with help. Who's that?" She asked, looking at Stingmon.

"He calls himself Stingmon. His main form of attack seems to be using the spikes on his hands. I'm, like, ninety-nine percent sure he's the Kaiser's Digimon Partner."

Hikari faltered for a second at that, but quickly recovered.

"What makes you say that?"

"He evolved from Wormmon when the Kaiser was in danger." Takato replied, walking back to her side.

Hikari bit her lip.

"Is he strong?" She asked after a second.

Takato looked at her silently for a minute, seeming to think it over, before shrugging.

"I guess. It's kind of hard to tell since he's fighting Guilmon."

"And Guilmon's really strong?"

Takato laughed at that.

"Guilmon won't lose to anyone." He said. "Honestly, at this point, the only thing I'm worried about is the Kaiser escaping. You know, since Stingmon can fly and we, uh, can't."

**XxXXxX**

"Spiking Finish!" Stingmon attacked, realizing he was at a severe disadvantage in ranged combat.

Guilmon just growled, lifting his arms for another painful block.

He didn't need to.

"Neko Punch!" Tailmon interfered, using Guilmon's back as a spring board to reach Stingmon and punch him in the face.

Stingmon went flying away, but quickly recovered and moved out of reach, using his ability to fly to his advantage. He hung back to observe this new arrival.

Guilmon did the same, not sure what to make of Tailmon given his Tamers true feelings.

Friend? Foe? Side item?

He looked at his Tamer who simply shrugged at him.

It's your choice, he said without words.

Guilmon looked from Tailmon to Stingmon and judged his choices as best he was able.

Stingmon was his current opponent, had caused him some degree of pain, and had the ability to fly away, if need be.

Tailmon wasn't, hadn't, and didn't.

That in mind, he ignored Tailmon and focused on Stingmon.

"Fire Grenade!" He cried.

Stingmon was well acquainted with that technique and had no desire to get to know it any better. He quickly dodged out of the way, which was easy enough given the distance between them.

Guilmon grunted in annoyance, changing strategies. Fireball and Fire Grenade were powerful, but required that he hit a mobile opponent with a single sphere. Fire Breath was less powerful, or, at least, less focused. However, it could change direction somewhat, as long as Guilmon moved his head while keeping up the attack. He was probably more likely to hit his target that way.

Fire Breath it was, then.

Guilmon exhaled another torrent of fire and when Stingmon avoided it, he turned his head to follow him, creating arcs of flame in the air.

**XxXXxX**

Stingmon was forced to consider his options as a result. He was aware that Tailmon was a melee range fight who could largely be ignored with distance. Guilmon, on the other hand, was more dangerous to him at a range.

But who should he worry about more?

Stingmon's keen senses picked something up and he snapped his head to look over his shoulder for a moment. A moment was enough, though; that flying Armor Evolution was approaching, along with that Insect Digimon that belonged to one of the older Chosen.

He glanced down in turn, looking for the other one. Daisuke and V-mon, he thinks they were called.

Damn. They were also approaching, if less quickly since they had to advance up a cliff face.

This was going to get extremely dangerous, extremely quickly.

Ken seemed to realize the same thing.

"Stingmon! We're leaving!" The Digimon Kaiser ordered.

Stingmon was happy to comply, but…

How do they get out of here?

**XxXXxX**

Ken's mind raced as Stingmon swept him into his arms.

There were six opponents. Two were descending from above, two were ascending from below, and two were already on his level. It was six-to-one against him.

However, there were more important things then pure numbers.

Of their opponents, only three were capable of flight; Tentomon, Patamon, and Holsmon. Their opponents were effectively halved if they could restrict this to an aerial battle.

Even better than that, two of them were Child level Digimon with no combat ability worth speaking of; Patamon and Tentomon couldn't hold a candle to an Adult Digimon regardless of their ability to fly.

Therefore, the obvious choice is to take to the air where he'd only have to deal with Holsmon.

However, it was a bit more complicated than that, he realized. While Tailmon was rendered useless as soon as they got a reasonable distance off of the ground, both Fladramon and Guilmon had ranged attacks and both of them had proven themselves to be of great power.

Even so, the air was still the best option and he signaled Stingmon to fly.

Naturally, it wasn't hard to figure out his intentions and the Chosen quickly reacted.

"Oh, you are not getting away." Takato said, eyes narrowing.

Guilmon growled in response to his partners feelings and opened its mouth to exhale another river of fire.

It wasn't hard to see the differences this time, as wisps of blue and flickers of white mingled within the massive blast.

There was no way he'd survive direct contact with that and he knew it.

Stingmon seemed to know it, too, though, and with a jolting feeling that left him nauseous, Stingmon had the Kaiser fifty feet higher.

"Damn it! Fladramon!" Daisuke shouted, finally making it up the cliff and panting because of it.

"Fire Rocket!" The Digimon, who was in much better shaped, replied.

Neither of the pair was particularly pleased with the fact that they had to come all the way up here just to watch the Kaiser leave.

But displeasure didn't change the fact that there was a huge distance between them and the Kaiser. Stingmon dodged the fireballs easily.

"Miyako!" Takato's distant voice shouted. "Get him!"

"Right!" Said a significantly closer voice.

Stingmon whirled around in an instant to find Holsmon and his partner far too close for comfort.

"Red Sun!" Holsmon cried, laser beams shooting from his eyes.

Caught off guard, this time Stingmon couldn't dodge. With no other choice, he lifted an arm, interposing it between the attack and Ken.

His wings buzzed angrily at the pain as his arm felt like it was on fire.

The spike on it extended as Stingmon rushed his attacker.

"Mach Impulse!"

Holsmon created two shockwaves from his wings and sent them his opponent.

Stingmon blew right through it, even as it gouged at his armor.

He needed to escape whatever the cost or, without a doubt, Ken would die.

Besides…

"Spiking Finish!"

He'd get to give Holsmon one to match.

Holsmon screamed as the spike rent his flesh, but he crushed into a growl as his eyes began to glow red. He turned his head just in time to meet Stingmon's.

And at the same time, Miyako and Ken's eyes met as well.

Anger and fear lingered in both of them.

And then they were gone.

**XxXXxX**

"Damn it…" Takato said, annoyed at how this entire fight had been basically a waste.

"He got away." Daisuke agreed, misunderstanding Takato's statement.

The Tamer looked at the Chosen and pondered what to do next.

He could try to kill them. If he used both the cards and Growmon, he should be able to succeed; at the very least, he'd be able to pick off one or two.

But would that benefit him?

Now that the Kaiser had escaped, not really. If he killed all the Chosen here, that meant he'd basically have to fight the Kaiser alone, which was what he had been trying to avoid with his original plan. The Three new Chosen were the only real threat…and maybe Tailmon, too. The older Chosen were, currently, not an issue.

Takato didn't believe for a second that Lucemon wouldn't change that if he felt like it, though.

Still, for now, it was probably a better idea to go back to the original plan. Killing the Kaiser and the Chosen earlier would have been nice, but it was simply a chance Takato had seen and tried to take; its failure hadn't changed anything.

He'd still been in a position to rescue and fight beside the Chosen, just as he had planned to do today. He hadn't done anything to blow his cover, though he might have been a bit on the ruthless side. He should be fine.

That in mind, he simply sighed at Daisuke before looking back at the heavens.

"There's no helping it; we'll just have to keep trying. Right now, Holsmon is injured." He said, taking charge. "Miyako! Have Holsmon land over there!"

He pointed to a clearing away from the cliff before turning towards the others.

"Do any of you know first aid? I know Digimon heal fast, but it's probably a good idea to take a look at that anyway."

Koushiro shook his head and he seemed to speak for the group as no one contradicted him.

"Jyou does, though." The Chosen of Knowledge said. "We'll have to take him there after he devolves."

"Ah!" Hikari said, realizing something. "Jyou is another one of the Chosen. We'll have to introduce you to the group."

Takato nodded silently, eyes still gazing at the sky. As he'd told himself, it didn't matter that he failed this time. But even so…

He was this close, damn it!

Someone threw an arm around his shoulders, startling him out of his revere. Takato glanced at the smiling Daisuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it, man; like you said, we'll just have to keep trying until we beat the Kaiser. We did great today! I mean, sure, the Kaiser got away, but we found two new Digimentals, freed three enslaved Digimon, and nearly cornered the Kaiser."

Takato closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right. We didn't know about Stingmon before, but…" He nodded to himself. "Next time."

They both started walking towards Holsmon.

Daisuke was just thankful for a new friend, but Takato's thoughts were a bit different. He was sad that the Kaiser got away, but…

It was just a game. There would be other chances. And…

This could be fun, too.

"Oh, hey." Daisuke said, suddenly realizing something. "I never got a chance to mention it, but…cool goggles."

Takato blinked at the sudden change in subject before laughing at it.

"Thanks. You like 'em?" He asked. People had commented on his goggles in real life before, but most of the time it wasn't to compliment them.

"Yeah! I used to have some, too, but…they got smashed when I was fighting Monochromon." Daisuke said, his mood suddenly sinking.

"Oh…" Takato said. He reached up to touch his own goggles thoughtfully.

He suddenly had an idea.

He took his goggles off and held them out to a surprised looking Daisuke.

"You can have mine until you can get some new ones." Takato said, smiling gently. "Or until this is all over, at least."

He didn't mind making such a promise.

After all, he was well aware of _how_ it would end.

**XxXXxX**

"Welcome back, Takato." Lucemon said with a hint of suppressed amusement and a wide smile.

"'Sup, Lucemon." Takato said, feeling surprisingly tired.

Then again, he had been playing for quite awhile…

"I can't help but notice you seem to be missing your goggles, Takato." Lucemon continued.

"Ah, yeah…I gave them to Daisuke. The guy with the V-mon." Takato replied and elaborated.

He paused as he realized something.

"Ah…I guess you already know who Daisuke is."

Lucemon nodded, still smiling.

"And Iori, Miyako, and Ken, yes. But still, giving your goggles to Daisuke…that was a nice thing to do."

Lucemon was beaming quite brightly and had been since Takato had entered the Dark Area.

It was making the young Tamer feel uneasy.

"Yeah, well…they're just goggles." He replied anyway. "And I can just take them back after I'm done with the Chosen."

He paused again.

"They won't explode into data when Daisuke dies, will they?" He wondered, not having thought about that. All the Digimon he'd defeated had been reduced to data; would the same happen to the Chosen.

Lucemon shrugged.

"It hasn't come up yet, so I'm not sure." He admitted. "You can always try and see; I'll make something up."

"Maybe later."

They both lapsed into silence, though Lucemon's smile didn't fade and Takato was worried it would blind him if he looked directly at it.

Takato just stared at him silently as the seconds passed before suddenly sighing.

"Okay, I've had enough time to brace myself for whatever you've done, so just say it already." Takato said, already aware Lucemon had probably just screwed him over and also aware that he couldn't do anything about it.

Lucemon didn't quite laugh, but Takato could tell that it was only because he was forcing himself not to.

"You sound like somebody who's on the way to their own execution." The angel pointed out, mirth in his tone.

Takato continued to gaze at him calmly, prompting him to reply.

"You're not on the way to your own execution, by the way."

The Tamer sighed, partially in exasperation, partially in amusement.

"That's good to know." He said, smiling. "Will I end up wishing I was?"

Lucemon opened his mouth to reply before closing his mouth. He looked thoughtful.

"Maybe." He admitted after a minute.

Takato's amusement vanished and Lucemon quickly elaborated.

"Probably not until the fangirls watch you give Daisuke your goggles, though. But that won't be for awhile." He said, obviously enjoying this way too much.

Takato glared at Lucemon, silently trying to will him to explain, or fix whatever he did, or at least to stop being an asshole.

"And why would they see that." He said. "No, scratch that; what fangirls?"

Lucemon's smile only widened. Takato silently hoped he somehow hurt himself doing that.

"Do you know what happens tomorrow, Takato?"

Takato quickly made a list of everything important that was going to happen the next day.

He needed to go to school, but he'd play cards with his friends before it started. After he got back, he'd log into the game – no, wait.

Tomorrow _was_ special and he _wouldn't_ immediately log on because of it.

After all, the second season of Digimon was going to start tomorrow.

That was probably what Lucemon was talking about, Takato figured. Besides for him logging on again, he couldn't see Lucemon caring about anything else he was going to do tomorrow.

But why would that affect him or make him suffer? He liked watching Digimon-

'_Probably not until the fangirls watch you give Daisuke your goggles, though. But that won't be for awhile.'_

'_Probably not until the fangirls watch you give Daisuke your goggles, though.'_

'_Probably not until the fangirls watch'_

Oh, Sweet Christ, Takato thought, clinching his eyes shut.

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

Lucemon stared at him with undisguised glee.

"Okay, I didn't do what you think I did." He said.

Takato looked at his face and didn't believe him for a second.

**XxXXxX**


	6. Chapter 6: Diverging Paths

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Six: Diverging Paths**

Takato stared silently at the screen.

The first episode of the second season was playing and it was going about how he would expect.

Lucemon was setting things up to screw him over.

He'd seen a shadowy figure that had looked just like him in the background of the opening. From past experience, Takato guessed that meant he didn't need to worry about being immediately screwed over; it'd probably be a while before he was introduced. That made sense; his actions in the game probably couldn't be summed up in a single episode.

But Lucemon wasn't even trying not to make him look like the bad guy! The first scene was of him, though he didn't appear as anything but a strange voice. Guilmon didn't appear either, but the Pyocomon did as they died.

Takato wondered if this was really okay. Three minutes in and hundreds of people were dying horribly. Wasn't this a kid's show? Even if there wasn't any blood…

Takato was at least thankful that it cut to a scene of the Kaiser laughing maniacally just after Meramon showed up. The obvious conclusion was that he was responsible; he wasn't going to immediately be the bad guy, at least.

He was somewhat less pleased when there was a scene of Mimi getting a message from Meramon right before the opening.

Then there was a scene of Mimi, Taichi and Sora seeing the village, going to the Village of Beginnings, coming to horrible realizations, breaking down, blah blah blah. All it was doing was ensuring he'd be labeled as unforgivable when he was revealed.

Still, putting aside how badly Lucemon was getting at him, he had to admit, it was…nice.

Being on TV, that is.

Does this mean he was going to be famous? Even if he was a villain, that didn't mean he couldn't be popular, right?

A thought suddenly struck him as he watched the Chosen have their meeting.

"Hey, does this mean I get paid?" He wondered before his Digivice began to make noises by his computer. He picked it up and looked at it confusedly. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it-

"_Why don't you check your email?"_ Lucemon's voice spoke. _"I made you an account and everything and put the money in it."_

"Holy- I really get paid?"

"_Yes. You know what that means, right?"_

"…What does it mean?" Takato asked, forlornly.

"_It means Lucemon owns you."_

Takato saw that coming and just sighed.

"_Hey, are you near the end of the episode yet?"_ Lucemon asked.

Takato checked the clock.

"It should be near the end, yeah. Why?" Takato asked. "And don't think I didn't see that part where you literally emailed the Chosen, you bastard. Are you _trying_ to screw me over?"

"_Yeah. Now shut up and watch; this is the best part."_

Taichi and Yamato were approaching the Village. Takato was only vaguely interested; he knew how this scene ended. But it was kind of cool to see it from the other side.

Wait. Yeah, he did know how this ended. It ended with Sora showing up and him-

Oh, damn it.

"It's me blowing Sora out of the sky, isn't it?"

"_Yeah."_ Lucemon said proudly. _"I have a video of it and everything. I have a video of Taichi's words before they attack followed immediately after by a scene of Sora being taken down. I even looped it, like, twenty times. I'll put it on the internet as soon as the episode is over."_

Takato closed his eyes and sighed.

"Damn it, Lucemon." He said. "But it's nice to know that you're not just an asshole to me."

Lucemon's laughter emerged from the Digivice as Sora fell from the sky.

**XxXXxX**

Takato sighed as he rested in the Dark Area.

It was strange, but for a prison, this place was beginning to feel a lot like home.

Takato frowned for a moment at that thought.

Isn't that a bad thing?

"The Chosen have been in the Digital World for awhile now." Lucemon informed him, interrupting his thought process.

He took a moment to recover from being torn from his thoughts before replying.

"Ah…yeah, I figured that. They can just use their school computer, after all…and I did watch the first episode. It's only natural that I'm late."

"Well, apparently they were a bit late, too." Lucemon told him.

"Oh, why's that?"

"…Iori was having a hard time eating his vegetables so the others decided to watch TV."

"…Suddenly, my future looks very bright."

"Hey, it's not a complete waste of time; in the process of watching TV; they found quite a bit of plot relevant information that will surely be important at a later date."

"…What?" Takato asked. "They managed to find something on TV that was worth watching? In a world _you_ programmed?"

Lucemon pouted.

"Hey, I helped make the Digimon TV show in real life."

"Which is nothing but an unsubtle attempt to dick around with me dressed up as a show in order for you to make lots of money off of a large number of small children." Takato pointed out cynically. "But I'll bite. What did the Chosen find on TV?"

"They found the Kaiser's secret identity." Lucemon said.

Takato looked at him blankly.

"I fully intend to have Guilmon eat the Kaiser; I don't care who he is in your little programmed world, Lucemon."

"Yes," Lucemon agreed, nodding his head. "Which is why you don't get to watch TV."

Takato just sighed.

"Whatever. I'm going to enter the Digital World now. Just so you know, if I come across any angel Digimon there, I may begin to beat them. I can't say when I'll stop."

"Takato." Lucemon's voice stopped him.

He looked back at the Digimon.

"The Kaiser is currently cornering the Chosen Children who are after a new Digimental they detected. They're outnumbered by the Kaiser's superior forces and are currently engaged in battle." Lucemon spoke, listing off important information quickly and concisely. "However, nearby, the Kaiser has a Coliseum filled with captured Digimon that he forces to fight each other again and again. Most of the Digimon come from the same area and are acquaintances, if not friends. The Coliseum has become famous for the fact that the Kaiser pits Digimon that are of equal power against each other and watches them fight. Sometimes its two enslaved Digimon against each other, sometimes it one enslaved Digimon against a free Digimon, but they always fight until one of them falls."

Takato shook his head.

"Wow, this guy's an asshole. And I say that as someone who walks around depopulating entire areas. But why are you telling me this?"

"You have a choice." Lucemon said, ignoring him and putting on his serious face. Takato got the distinct impression that he was being made fun of. "You can help the Chosen or free the slaves."

"I'll free the slaves, obviously." Takato stated, brushing aside the drama Lucemon was trying to create. Lucemon looked a bit put out, which did wonders for his moral. "What do I care if the Chosen and the Kaiser tear each other apart? Not only is that not my problem, it's kind of the idea. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an alibi to create. Let's go, Guilmon."

**XxXXxX**

"Go, Tyrannomon." The Kaiser said from atop his steed.

He was taking a calculated risk…is what he wanted to say.

In reality, he was actually after revenge. Against that one child that had come so close to…

The Kaiser clinched his fist.

But he wasn't here. He'd attacked the Chosen and taken them by surprise only to find that the one he wanted wasn't even here…!

The Tyrannomon attacked at his command, exhaling fire. 'Fire Breath.' That was the name of this attack.

The same name as that Digimon's attack…It even looked the same…

"Watch out!" Miyako shouted, pulling the surprised Iori out of the way.

"What are you doing?" Daisuke demanded.

The Kaiser looked down at him as though he were a bug, not the slightest hint of expression on his face.

"Hmph."

It was a small sound; it didn't even reach the Chosen's ears. Only Ken heard his own contempt.

"Let's go, Daisuke!" V-mon said.

The small Digimon wasn't concerned with things like the Kaiser's intentions. The bad guy was here; it's Go Time.

That was all he needed to know.

"Alright! Digimental Up!"

"V-mon, Armor Shinka! Fladramon!"

Ken just chuckled at the sight of the Armor Digimon as he jumped down from his perch of Tyrannomon.

"Do you think the same trick will work on me twice? That's why I can't stand stupid people like you."

Daisuke brushed the insult off with a small degree of annoyance. He'd heard worse, but…

"You really piss me off!" He said, not talking about the insult.

Ken smirked.

"Tyrannomon." He ordered.

The red Adult rushed forward in a blur, choosing to attempt melee combat. He had his orders and knew how he was supposed to respond to each of the Armor evolutions. Fire-based attacks wouldn't work very well on Fladramon so he shouldn't use them, he'd been told.

However, Tyrannomon's arms were quite well developed, so his combat ability wasn't affected very much. He took Fladramon across the face with a mighty blow. Actually, due to the size difference, he took him across most of the upper body.

Either way, Fladramon was lifted off his feet and thrown away.

V-mon's evolved form did a flip in midair, recovering in moments. He landed on a tree and used it as a springboard, launching back towards his opponent.

"This is nothing!" Fladramon said. "Knuckle Fire!"

He launched an impressive ball of fire from his right hand towards the large Digimon.

Seeing it, the Kaiser chuckled again.

Tyrannomon lifted in the air as he jumped slightly. He hit the blast with the side of his tail and-

Smashed it into sparks.

"What?" Daisuke said, taken aback at the sight. "Damn it!"

"Miyako." Hawkmon said, glancing at her. She nodded without him needing to explain.

"Digimental Up!"

"Hawkmon, Armor shinka! Holsmon!"

It was strange for Miyako; as Hawkmon evolved, he literally grew under her. When he was finished, she found herself on Holsmon's back.

Holsmon dashed towards the enemy. Tyrannomon spat a blast of fire at him, but he was easily able to dodge. He bounded to the left as he ran and then to the right, dodging the attack completely before counterattacking.

"Red Sun!"

The attack took the enslaved Digimon full in the chest making him roar in pair as well as knock him back.

Ken's good mood faded at the sight and he spoke angrily as he flexed his whip.

"Do you think you have the advantage in numbers! Come out, my slaves!"

The ground shook at the footsteps of the approaching Digimon.

"What!" Daisuke had to shout.

Five. There were five Tyrannomon, now; five Adult Digimon had surrounded them.

"Five of them…" Miyako said, a bit fearfully.

"Armadimon, I'm counting on you!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Tailmon, you too!" Hikari said.

"On it!" Her partner replied, bounding forward.

"Digimental Up!"

"Armadimon, Armor shinka! Digmon!"

Even so, it was still four on five against them. Even if the Kaiser played fair, it would be hard.

"Damn it…" Takeru couldn't help but say.

"Why can't I evolve? I want to fight, too!" Patamon said, frustration finally getting to him.

"As long as I have this Digivice, you won't be able to evolve." The Kaiser replied. "All of you, focus your attacks on their weakest link."

"What!" Takeru couldn't help but say, eyes widening as five sets of red eyes turned towards him and his partner.

"In hindsight, I should have seen this coming." Patamon said, wincing.

**XxXXxX**

In contrast to the Chosen, Takato was taking a stroll through the woods. His pace wasn't hurried and he wasn't worried in the slightest. He was actually whistling a tune that had gotten stuck in his head.

As he came into sight of the Coliseum, he stopped for a moment, looking both ways.

No guards, no sentries, no nothing.

That was kind of disappointing.

After a moment, he shrugged before continuing his walk.

Oh, well. All the better for him, right?

"Well, it's a nice place, I'll give him that." Takato said, absently admiring the structure. He wondered if the Kaiser built it or if it was one of the weird natural structures of the Digital World. That led to him wondering if it really was an imitation of the Roman Coliseum or if it was just similar.

Well, it's not like he would know; Roman Architecture was of no interest to him. Still, even he could point and say 'that's pretty' when he needed, too.

Guilmon looked at him with blank, childish eyes. Takato chuckled and patted him on the head; Roman Architecture wasn't of interest to him, but Guilmon probably didn't even know what it was.

Guilmon suddenly turns his head, sniffing the air. After several shallow breaths, he growls.

Takato glances at him for a moment before following his eyes.

"Oi, whoever's there, come out." He said. He was curious, honestly; had there been a guard and he'd just missed it? Granted, he hadn't really looked that hard, but…hm, actually…

He'd fallen prey to a simple mistake; he'd been working under the impression that any guards left behind would be big and powerful. But he'd forgotten that, in the Digital World, those two things didn't have to go hand in hand. Guilmon was living proof of that.

He'd been looking for someone of Mojyamon's or Kuwagamon's size, or maybe even just Stingmon's size. Since they all stood out because of their height and width, he hadn't exactly broken out a magnifying glass and went over the area. But Guilmon was looking at an area that was a great deal lower then that…

He'd overlooked the possibility of a small but powerful enemy? He wanted to kick himself for that-

And then a nervous Gotsumon crawled out of a bush.

Takato gazed at the Child level Digimon with blank eyes and promptly stopped giving a damn about what he may have overlooked.

"Are you…" A hesitant but hopeful Gotsumon began. "Are you one of the Chosen?"

Takato sighed in something that may have been relief and may have been disappointment.

"Yeah, something like that." He glanced the small rocklike creature over. "You're not one of the Kaiser's Digimon. What are you doing here?"

"I-I'm here…the Kaiser captured my friends!" The Gotsumon nearly shouted.

Takato winced subtly at the sudden noise before nodding.

"And they're in there? Ah…I heard being in the Kaiser's Coliseum was pretty sucky. You here to rescue them? There don't seem to be any guards around; it shouldn't be too hard."

The Gotsumon clinched its stone fists.

"There are guards inside; I can't. Are the other Chosen here?"

"Hm? Nah; they're out keeping the Kaiser busy. It's just me."

Gotsumon hung its head.

"Then…even if there are two of us, we can't defeat the Coliseum."

Takato did a double take before lifting an eyebrow.

"What did you just say to me?"

Gotsumon blinked.

"Um…we can't defeat the Coliseum?"

Takato looked at him flatly.

"Yeah, that's the part."

"Uh…"

"Who the hell do you think I am?" He demanded. "Challenge accepted."

**XxXXxX**

Patamon's small body slammed into a tree with a great degree of force.

"Ouch."

Takeru rushed to his side, picked him up in one smooth movement, and continued to run.

Of course, the sudden introduction of another target bothered the Tyrannomon not at all, so they simply aimed at the human instead.

The two nearest Tyrannomon opened their mouths and exhaled a wave of flame at Takeru, which would have, almost certainly, burnt him to a crisp if he'd been hit.

He had Digmon to thank for his survival.

In an explosion of dirt, Iori's partner appeared, smoothing the flames.

"Why don't you fight me instead?" Digmon asked.

"That's not fair, Digimon Kaiser!" Daisuke shouted as Takeru continued to run for safety.

"Fair? It doesn't matter as long as you win." Ken stated dismissively.

Takato would have agreed with him if he'd been here.

"If this keeps up, we'll get nowhere." Iori said. "He's completely controlling the pace of the battle!"

Whenever they tried to mount an offensive, the Tyrannomon attacked Patamon, forcing them on the defensive. While they had been successful so far, it was unlikely they could keep that up for long; sooner or later, the Kaiser's superior numbers would win him the day, if not his offensive might.

They had to change strategies.

It didn't matter what it was; not really. They just needed to do something the Kaiser hadn't prepared for, to change the flow of the battle in their favor.

Iori came to a decision, then.

"Let's take a chance with that Digimental." He urged the others.

Miyako reacted first.

"B-but we don't know whose Digimental it is!" She said.

They obviously couldn't just leave the Kaiser alone; he wasn't the type of person to just ignore their plan and sit around with five Adult Digimon doing nothing.

He'd follow them and they'd get nowhere.

At the same time, they couldn't leave all the Digimon behind. Well, they could and the Digimon could probably handle themselves, but what if the Kaiser had other Digimon waiting in the wings? What were they supposed to do then? Die?

No thanks. So they couldn't all go and they could leave the Digimon behind. They also couldn't all stay; that sort of defeated the point.

Some of them had to go and some of them had to stay, Iori realized. At the very least, someone with a new Digivice had to go; its scanner was more accurate than the older models.

But how could they know who the Digimental belonged to? If the wrong people went, nothing would happen!

"Anyway, let's try it." Daisuke interrupted his thoughts. "Iori, can we leave this to you?"

The youngest Chosen clinched his Digivice as he nodded his head.

"Digmon, stay here, please." Iori requested.

"I got it."

Hikari glanced at Iori's back as he ran, then back at the battle.

"Tailmon, we're going to look for that Digimental, too."

In reality, she was just worried about Iori being attacked, but her partner knew what she meant without her saying anything.

"Us, too." Takeru said.

If they stayed behind, they couldn't help; they were just a liability. But if they left, then the others could go on the offensive.

"Don't let them get away!" The Kaiser ordered his minions.

**XxXXxX**

The gate groaned as Guilmon's clawed hands gripped it, sinking into and taking a handful of the steel as if it were mere clay. A shifting of his feet and a twist of his body was all it took to tear the gate from its hinges.

Guilmon sniffed the air, searching for signs of any enemies. Just in case, he also swept his eyes over the area, looking for possible threats.

A moment later, he released a huffing breath and entered the room.

Takato strolled in after him, Gotsumon following close behind. The smaller Digimon was all but hiding behind the Tamer, something he found amusing; Gotsumon was a Digimon and he was just a human. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

One of Takato hands was in his pocket while the other arm hung by his side. It may have looked casual, but in reality Takato was gripping his Digivice. He was a bit annoyed that there were witnesses; otherwise he could use his cards or even evolve Guilmon. This place would fall like a house of cards, then.

Oh well.

They were in the center of the Coliseum, the place where gladiators would fight.

And Guilmon's opponent stood on the other side of the arena.

Takato closed his eyes.

"Hmph."

He walked around the edge of the area after opening his eyes again. In the process, he noticed that the captured Digimon were all placed around the edge in cages. The bars of the front of their cages were placed so as to make them seem like they were part of the wall.

The Kaiser probably had a way to open the cages to release prisoners into the area, but if he couldn't find it, he'd just have Guilmon tear them off.

He reached the stairs a moment later, Gotsumon following nervously behind him. He climbed them without a word, getting out of Guilmon's way.

On the upper level he found nothing but a plush throne.

The Kaiser's throne.

Takato realized quickly that he probably wouldn't like knowing that someone else was sitting in his chair and that made him enjoy it all the more.

He had to admit, it was a nice chair.

Gotsumon stood by his side, still looking scared.

"Don't worry; Guilmon won't lose. I was just getting us out of his way. After he crushes Tuskmon and frees him, we'll rescue the rest of the Digimon."

Gotsumon nodded, though he didn't look completely convinced.

"What are they waiting for?" He asked.

Indeed, Tuskmon and Guilmon were staring each other down, but otherwise weren't moving.

Takato frowned for a minute before realization struck. He chuckled before lifting an arm.

"Fight!"

**XxXXxX**

"Air Shot!" Patamon tried. He attacked even though he knew it was futile.

Because he had someone he wanted to protect…

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Takeru said, grabbing his partner.

Behind them, Tyrannomon roared. The partners of the new Chosen were dealing with most of them, but it's naturally that in a five-on-three fight there will be chances to slip away. At the Kaisers orders, the Tyrannomon had pursued them.

"Neko Punch!" Tailmon cried. Her attack was much more effective, even knocking the much large Digimon down.

But she couldn't stay to finish the job. She was confident she could win against an opponent that was restricted to the ground, but in order to do so, she'd have to either leave the others to find the Digimental or have them all stay nearby.

The former was too dangerous in a situation where they didn't know what to expect. She liked Patamon, but she couldn't deny that against serious opposition, he would almost certainly lose.

But the latter option wasn't safe either; Daisuke and Miyako were in danger as well, not to mention the partners of the new Chosen. They didn't have time for a brawl right now.

So they ran.

Iori's Digivice lead them to a cave.

"In there!" Iori said, pointing at it. He was a bit out of breath, not because he was out of shape, but because he wasn't used to running through forests yet. His small size didn't help, either.

Hikari just nodded. She had mixed feelings about caves; on one hand, they were good places to hide, but on the other, if someone found you there anyway, you wouldn't have much room to move.

But now wasn't the time. They couldn't just turn back because it was in an inconvenient place.

However, luck seemed to be on their side. Tyrannomon passed by the cave without noticing that they were in it.

The entire group sighed in relief.

Iori looked at his Digivice to get a general direction, before looking up. It took him a few seconds in the dim light of the cave, but he noticed something…glimmer?

"Those are…?"

"The Digimentals?" Hikari asked, following his eyes.

Takeru bit his lip.

"Then, if we move those, new Digimon will appear?" He asked.

On one hand, that would follow the pattern and be very convenient; their numbers would increase to six effective Adult Digimon, counting Tailmon.

But on the other hand…

"But there are no more partnerless Chosen…" Hikari said.

Who would they be partnered with?

Takeru thought about that issue but came to only one conclusion.

"Even so, there's nothing we can do about it."

Hikari nodded and the group approached the Digimentals.

They were weird looking, to be sure; one seemed armored in gold and had a tuft of white fur and ears like Patamon. The other had paws and white wings that seemed to hide something.

But more than their appearances, what drew Hikari and Takeru's attention were the symbols imprinted on them.

"Hope and Light…" Takeru voiced.

Their Crests…

Taichi hadn't been able to lift the Digimental of Courage, but…

Maybe…?

Two pairs of hands grasped the Digimentals-

Their Digivices started to glow; Takeru's glowed yellow, Hikkari's glowed pink, and-

They lifted the eggs as if they were weightless.

**XxXXxX**

Tuskmon attacked first while Guilmon held back for the moment.

He wanted to know what his opponent was capable of before acting.

Tuskmon was happy to oblige.

"Panzer Knuckle!"

The Adult Level Digimon clinched a hand into a fist before charging. As it swung through the air at its target, flames ignited around it, cladding it in an aura of fire.

Tuskmon was charging in a straight line. If Guilmon wanted to, he could easily dodge.

But he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. He met the much larger Digimon head on.

"Rock Breaker!"

The Hazard symbol on his chest beat red once as he attacked and, a moment later, his claws burst into flames as well.

Fire fought fire as the two Digimon collided and the result was an explosion that momentarily blinded Takato.

When his vision cleared, the two Digimon were still struggling against each other. Their two fists hadn't moving from where they'd connected, but their entire bodies trembled as they tried to force them forward.

Tuskmon realized this was getting him nowhere and lifted his other fist.

"Panzer Knuckle!"

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon replied, the Hazard pulsing again, coating his fist with flames.

This time, Takato looked away before the collision and avoided being blinded.

Their physical strength seemed to be equal and there was no saying who would give out first. Some would have said that it was amazing that the smaller, Child Level Guilmon could stand even with the much larger Tuskmon.

Personally, Takato was more impressed Tuskmon wasn't beaten yet.

It seemed that in an arm wrestling match, this would take awhile.

Guilmon realized that as well and opened his mouth, red light already spilling from it.

"Fire Grenade!"

The resulting explosion blew the two opponents away from each other, though only Tuskmon was injured.

Guilmon recovered the moment he stopped moving and charged.

"Neck Strencher!"

He took Tuskmon with a flaming uppercut to the chin, knocking his head back. But he wasn't finished there.

He leapt as far into the air as his little legs could take him and attacked again.

"Fireball!"

The blast hit Tuskmon but that was just icing on the cake. More importantly, the resulting explosion lifted Guilmon that much higher into the air, putting him in a perfect position to continue his assault.

"Rock Crusher!"

The attack was a modified Rock Breaker made with interlaced claws. It hit Tuskmon's thrown back head and-

Slammed the Digimon right into the ground.

Guilmon landed a short ways away and continued his relentless assault without a moment of hesitation.

He'd continue until his opponent was crushed, Takato knew.

Apparently, Tuskmon knew it, too.

"Bayonet Lancer!" The prone Digimon cried, firing energy lances from the tusk-like horns that were his namesake.

The attack took Guilmon in the chest, blowing him back. His feet slid along the ground as a result of the blast, at least until he managed to stop himself.

He growled, more annoyed then hurt.

But even so, Tuskmon's plan had worked; he'd bought himself enough time to quickly return to his feet.

Yellow eyes met enslaved red and they came to a wordless agreement.

They charged each other then, eager to end this.

"Horn Driver!"

Tuskmon's horns glowed as he charged, ready to skewer his opponent.

"Surudoi Tsume!" Guilmon growled, bracing himself for what was to come.

The two Digimon met in the center of the area, Tuskmon trusting forward with his horns, Guilmon stretching forth his claws and-

Guilmon grabbed the horns with his bare hands.

Tuskmon pushed him back a meter even as his red eyes widened in shock.

But no further.

Guilmon stopped Tuskmon's advance there. More than that; when Tuskmon tried to escape he held him fast.

And then he clinched his clawed hands around the horns.

His claws sunk into them like a warm knife into butter.

Guilmon's gleeful eyes met Tuskmon's as they widened further, fear making its way through the dominating haze that had captured his mind.

The Child Digimon increased the pressure of his hands and the horns began to crack.

A twist of his wrists was all it took to break them completely.

Tuskmon cried out as he stumbled away quickly in shock and awe.

And Guilmon…

Clinched his fist.

"Rock Breaker!"

**XxXXxX**

"They look just like Daisuke's and the other's." Hikari said, interest mixing with amazement.

Their Digivices had changed shape and color.

Takeru nodded, feeling the same way.

But he had bigger things in mind then a cosmetic change to his Digivice.

He looked down at his new Digivice and then at the Digimental he held.

"Then…" Takeru began, pausing for a moment in uncertainty before continuing. "Digimental Up!"

"Patamon, shinka!"

The small Digimon grew to the size and shape of a large horse. Golden armor covered his face, hooves, and chest, but beneath it one could see that his fur was still the same color as Patamon's; even his bat-like ears remained. He grew a horse tail as well, but, without a doubt, the most obvious change was the large pair of wings he sprouted.

"Pegasmon!"

The sudden evolution snapped Hikari out of her reverie and she was quick to respond.

"Come on, Tailmon; us, too!"

"Yes!"

"Digimental Up!" The Chosen of Light shouted.

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" Hikari said, confused. "Digimental Up!"

Nothing continued to happen.

She shook her Digivice, getting upset.

"Is this thing broken?"

**XxXXxX**

Tuskmon lay prone on the ground, completely defeated. They'd destroyed his Ring, freeing him, but…he'd taken quite a beating.

It would probably be awhile before he got up.

"Well, that takes care of that." Takato said. "I feel a bit bad for Tuskmon, but there was no helping it. Hopefully he won't be too upset when he wakes up."

Gotsumon was looking between Takato and his partner with undisguised awe.

"That…that was…I don't even know what that was, but you two are amazing, uh…"

"Takato." He helpfully supplied.

"Takato!"

"Meh, I didn't do anything impressive; Guilmon did all the work." Takato said. "But more importantly, we still need to save your friends…"

Takato pondered the issue for a bit.

"Gotsumon, do you know where the Kaiser's Tower is located in this area?" He asked.

Gotsumon blinked at the question, obviously not understanding the significance.

"Uh…yeah. It's that way." He said pointing off a ways.

Takato looked in that direction but didn't see the Tower.

"Is it nearby?"

"Not really…"

Takato pursed his lips and nodded to himself.

"It's too far." He concluded. "We don't know when the Kaiser will return, so we can't risk leaving everyone here…"

Rather, it was far away and Takato didn't feel like walking…

"I guess we'll have to settle this the old-fashioned way."

"What?" Gotsumon asked, completely lost.

Takato sighed.

"Those Towers the Kaiser puts up are what allow him to control Digimon like he does. If we smashed it, we could free everyone without them getting hurt, but since we can't risk it…"

Gotsumon caught on.

"You'll have to break the Rings." He said, worriedly.

He'd seen what had happened to Tuskmon.

"Tuskmon was an Adult and put up a pretty big fight, which is why he got hurt. The others are all Child Levels; they should go down easily. But…" Takato looked down at the rocklike Digimon. "What do you think, Gotsumon?"

Gotsumon looked down at the ground for a moment.

"Do it." He said, finally. "I don't want my friends to get hurt, but…I know they'd rather be hurt then be slaves."

Takato put a hand on the small Digimon's head.

"You heard him Guilmon." He said. "Pick a cage; any cage. Free whoever's inside."

**XxXXxX**

In the end, Hikari had no choice but to postpone the issue. No answers were forthcoming and time was running out.

She'd have plenty of time to think about the issue later.

So in the end, she, Tailmon, and Iori ended up hitching a ride on Pegasmon. Even with Tailmon's small size, it was a tight fit with four passengers, but they managed.

It's not like Pegasmon's strength was an issue; the Armor Digimon could lift three children and a cat easily. It was simply a matter of size and the obvious issue of what would happen if someone fell off.

While Hikari understood and empathized with Miyako's new found fear of falling, she had no desire to share it.

Even so, it quickly turned out to be the right choice.

When they came into sight, it became obvious that the Kaiser had Daisuke and Miyako on the ropes. Apparently, after its failure to track them down, the Tyrannomon that had been chasing them had returned to its master's side. As a result, Fladramon, Holsmon, and Digmon had been forced to fight a battle against superior numbers.

They were strong, but fighting five-on-three had taken its toll.

The badly beaten Armor Digimon had been backed into a corner along with Daisuke and Miyako. They were now stuck between five Adults and a cliff. At this point, all the Kaiser had to do was charge and the Chosen would probably end up falling to their deaths.

Of course, several Tyrannomon might end up falling in the process, but they were Adults; they'd probably survive. And if they didn't, what did he care?

Miyako glanced worriedly behind her at the long way down.

"Holsmon?" She asked.

"If it comes to that, I can try to carry you and Daisuke out of here." The Armor Digimon replied, understanding. "But I'm worried that I might not be able to keep you all safe with five Digimon shooting at me."

Fladramon growled.

"Don't worry about it, Holsmon; get them both out of here. Digmon and I will keep them busy."

"What!" Daisuke demanded. "No way! What about the two of you?"

Fladramon shrugged.

"We'll be fine, Daisuke."

It was an obvious lie and all of them knew it.

"Absolutely not." Daisuke dismissed firmly. "Holsmon, get Miyako out of here. I'm sorry, but…I can't leave Fladramon behind."

Miyako bit her lip and swallowed.

"In that case, I'm staying, too. Even if we could escape, we can't just leave the others behind. We don't even know where Iori is!"

"Done saying your last words?" The Kaiser questioned. "Are you ready to give up yet?"

"What?" Daisuke asked, glaring at him.

"You've obviously realized I hold all the cards. Look behind you; there's nowhere left to run."

"Tch." Daisuke voiced, annoyed. "I think I speak for everyone involved when I say 'go screw yourself.'"

"Have it your way." The Kaiser replied, shrugging. "Tyrannomon, get rid of them."

The three Armor Digimon tensed at his words and the five Adults began to move forward.

"And suddenly, death from above. Neko Punch!" A voice interrupted.

Tailmon abruptly came out of nowhere and fell up the foremost Tyrannomon. Surprise and her small size worked to her advantage and she made full use of them both. Her first blow smashed into Tyrannomon's head, stunning him. She took advantage of that by wrapping her tail around one of his green spikes and swinging herself around to reach the Evil Ring.

She immediately grabbed it with both hands and strained with all her might. The recovering Tyrannomon tried to struggle but it was no use; with a mighty tug, Tailmon tore apart the ring with her bare hands.

Tyrannomon's body suddenly went limp and fell. Hikari's nimble partner immediately leapt to safety, landing by Fladramon.

She looked very smug.

"What's up, Tailmon?" Fladramon asked, nodding at the smaller Digimon like nothing had happened.

"Nothing much. Beat up a Tyrannomon." She said in exactly the same tone.

"Yes." He agreed.

"About to beat up a Kaiser."

"_Hell_ yes."

The aforementioned Kaiser frowned at them.

"You know, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you." He said. "You've lost the element of surprise and it's four on four."

"Wrong on both accounts." Tailmon disagreed.

"Shooting Star!"

**XxXXxX**

"Guilmon! Guilmon! Guilmon!" The crowd cheered.

The noise had grown steadily louder and louder as Guilmon beat opponent after opponent. He'd freed one of Gotsumon's friends already, as well as a pair of Elecmon that Gotsumon claimed to have seen before, but most of the crowd was made of Digimon that he didn't really know personally.

Takato didn't know them personally, either, of course, but he had enough Digimon based knowledge to recognize most of them without using his Digivice.

The highest level Digimon seemed to be a Gekomon that had come from a different area with a group of Otamamon. Apparently they were running from the Kaiser, who'd invaded their former home.

Takato had been a bit surprised to see an Adult mixed in with a bunch of Child levels, but the reason behind it had become apparent as soon as they fought.

Guilmon had crushed him. Utterly.

After being freed, the Adult Digimon had begged him to save his home as well.

Takato had agreed, of course, mainly to avoid any waterworks.

It wasn't like he had anything against randomly screwing over the Kaiser, anyway.

There was a Kotemon, who had shown a great deal of gratitude upon being freed and who spoke very formally. He'd put up a surprisingly large fight for a Child Level, though Guilmon still crushed him utterly.

Takato was observant enough to see a bit of hurt pride mixed in with his thankfulness, but was also tactful enough to be quiet about it.

There had also been a Koemon, Gazimon, and a number of other Digimon, mostly bug-, plant-, and animal-based, but Takato had stopped paying attention to faces after noticing the pattern.

All the Digimon in this area were under the card type of 'Nature Spirits.' The Tamer guessed that made sense, if this was a Digimon game, but…

What did it mean? Did it mean anything at all?

Maybe he was just thinking too much.

Takato focused back on the fight. In the process, he noticed that Gotsumon, who'd been fairly quiet compared to the rest of the crowd, was cheering very loudly now, as was his friend.

The reason why quickly became apparent.

Guilmon had stumbled across the third Gotsumon in his random selection of the gates and was currently fighting him.

"Angry Rock!" The Gotsumon cried, firing stones from his head.

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon replied.

He quickly proved that the name was very appropriate, crushing the projectiles to dust with a single mighty swing.

The red Digimon immediately charged his opponent; normally, he was more carefully around Digimon that entered the arena, but that was because he didn't recognize most of them.

But he'd already fought a Gotsumon, and not too long ago at that. He'd won, too, so he didn't hesitate.

Gotsumon smacked the ground and Guilmon leapt into air the moment he saw it, dodging what was coming before it could even start.

He was familiar with this, and all of Gotsumon's other, attacks.

"Abarenbou!"

The arena began to shake as if tormented by a miniature earthquake…which bothered the airborne Guilmon not at all.

The Virus Type fell from the sky upon the Gotsumon as the rocklike creature attempted to recover.

"Rock Breaker!"

"Hardest Punch!"

Gotsumon's attack proved to be misnamed, however, as Guilmon's claws connected with his glowing fist.

Cracks spread through the Data Type's hand from the impact point while Guilmon's claws seemed unharmed.

Takato figured Guilmon held back or Gotsumon probably would have lost the hand altogether.

Guilmon flung Gotsumon's hand to the side, leaving his body unprotected.

Takato's partner didn't both using another attack. He just swung his hand at the Evil Ring that bound his opponent to the Kaiser's will.

The ring shattered like glass, breaking apart into a cloud of data.

And the crowd went wild.

**XxXXxX**

Pegasmon's attack rained down upon the Tyrannomon.

It hurt them, of course, but more than that it distracted them.

"Fladramon, throw me!" Tailmon quickly shouted.

Daisuke's partner didn't waste a second, not bothering to question her. He simply scooped her up with one hand and tossed her at the nearest Tyrannomon.

"Cat Missile!" He shouted, for no reason except because he could.

"Neko Punch!"

Tailmon slammed into the enslaved Digimon and Fladramon proved that his aim was good; her first connected with the Evil Ring with next to no work on her part and it broke into pieces on contact.

"Silver Blaze!"

The holy beam fired from Pegasmon's head broke the Ring binding a third Tyrannomon in a flash of light, taking advantage of the chaos.

Digmon and Holsmon quickly realized that the tide had turned in their favor and pressed their assault.

"Red Sun!" Holsmon cried, firing the red beams of light from his eyes.

He targeted the Tyrannomon on the left by silent agreement with Digmon, ignoring the other one utterly even as it turned to attack him.

He trusted his friend to watch his back.

"Gold Rush!"

And his friend didn't let him down.

Red lasers and steel drills both connected with their targets, annihilating both Rings.

As one, the group turned towards the Kaiser, who now stood all alone.

Ken calmly surveyed the group assembled before him. He ignored the humans utterly; they weren't an issue. They showed no signs of attacking and even if they did, he had enough skill as a sports star to be confident in kicking their asses.

The Digimon on the other hand…

Fladramon's hands that glowed like heated metal as he narrowed his eyes…

Holsmon's glowing red eyes…

Digmon's drills that now spun threateningly…

Tailmon flexing her claws…

He pursed his lips and nodded to himself.

"My army of sentient attack dinosaurs has been crushed and broken by a talking cat, a flying horse, a lizard in a costume, a bug with drills glued onto it, and a strange creature with wings coming out of its head. Yep, I think I'm done here." He said, lifting his Digivice. "Stingmon, now would be a good time."

The green, insect-like humanoid appeared so fast that he seemed to nearly flicker into existence.

Ken continued his monologue as his partner picked him up.

"Alright, I'm just going to fly off, go home, and put this whole incident behind me."

Stingmon began to slowly rise into the air under the confused gaze of the Chosen and their Digimon.

"Wait, what!" Daisuke demanded. "You think you can just leave?"

Ken paused for a moment to look Stingmon up and down before turning to look back at Daisuke.

He nodded his head silently.

"You enslaved these Tyrannomon, tried to kill us, and now that you've lost you're just gonna run!" Takeru nearly snarled.

The Kaiser sighed tiredly.

"What? Did you not hear what I just said? Do I have to spell it out for you? Fine. Fuck you guys; I'm going home."

Stingmon suddenly increased his speed, launching both himself and his partner into the sky.

Daisuke and his fellow Chosen gazed after him as he vanished from sight.

"So…" Iori began. "Shouldn't we chase him?"

"Only two of us have partners that can fly." Takeru pointed out. "And we don't know what's waiting for us if we follow him."

"I don't feel confident pursuing someone who has proven himself faster than me, either." Holsmon added.

Miyako sighed in frustration and kicked the ground.

"This sucks."

**XxXXxX**

"Thank you, Takato." Gotsumon said, having apparently been elected the unofficial leader. "And thank you, Guilmon."

In perfect unison, the rest of the assembled Digimon spoke as well.

"Thank you Takato and Guilmon!"

Takato chuckled.

"No problem guys. Sorry we had to be so rough with you, though."

One of the other Gotsumon, who Takato deduced was the second one they freed based off the wound on his arm, shook his head.

"Not at all. These wounds will heal and our freedom is more than worth the pain."

Takato nodded his head as a gesture of acknowledgement and respect.

He'd give Lucemon credit where it was due; the angel could program characters that were at least a little bit likeable.

"You all should probably leave now." He said. "Oh, and thank you for the help you gave me back at the Coliseum. I probably wouldn't have been able to finish everything up in time without you guys."

Kotemon chuckled darkly.

"Oh, don't worry about that; it was a pleasure, I assure you."

"What are you going to do now, Takato?" One of the Otamamon asked, looking at the Tamer.

He was probably wondering about his home area.

"I'll probably meet up with the others; they should be done with the Kaiser by now."

Or dead. Either way, fine with him.

"After that, I'll get to work on scoping out that home of yours; if the Kaiser has successfully taken it over, though, I'll probably need a few days to scope it out before going in. But if nothing comes up, I should be able to get to it soon." Takato continued, smiling kindly.

Gekomon bowed to him.

"Thank you, Takato."

Takato waved him off dismissively, turning away.

"No problem, no problem." He said, walking away. "Take care of yourselves. Say goodbye to the nice Digimon, Guilmon."

"Bye-bye!" His partner said, waving.

"Goodbye!"

Takato chuckled as he walked away. He had to meet up with the Chosen now and it would be too risky to stay regardless, but…

Man, he hoped Lucemon would include the Kaiser's reaction in the show.

He could wait to see how he felt about their interior decorating.

**XxXXxX**

Ken slowly turned in a circle, standing in the middle of his Coliseum.

No…it wasn't really a Coliseum anymore.

The bars of the gates had all been torn off. The walls had been heavily vandalized. Naturally, nobody had access to things like spray paint, but…they'd carved a number of things into the walls.

Ken pursed his lips, pausing at the engraved 'PWNED' on one of the walls but all that did was cause him to face a different marking, which said 'You = My Bitch.'

He turned to the stairs, slowly making his way up them. As he did, he noticed that things had been carved into each step. He noted them absently as he ascended.

Takato owns you.

Pwned noob; lurk more.

There were also a number of drawings and comments pertaining to him, his parentage, his sexual orientation, his intelligence, and many other things, along with drawn faces that were obviously mocking him.

Stingmon floated in the air beside him, looking at him worriedly.

"You seem pretty calm, Ken-chan."

The Kaiser's lips drew away from his teeth in a crud mockery of a smile.

"Not really. I'm just so _enraged_ that I've gone full circle."

Stingmon winced at that.

Finally, Ken reached the top of the stairs and froze. His hands clinched into fists as he confirmed what he had already noticed.

His throne was gone. As in, it had been pried out of the ground and stolen.

He took a deep breath and approached the spot where it had once stood.

Sure enough, there was a message written on the ground.

Later, bitches. Hope you like what I've done with the place.

Matsuda Takato.

P.S. I'm taking your chair.

Abruptly, the mask of calm that had slide over his features broke.

"MATSUDA!" He shouted.

**XxXXxX**

"Sup, guys." A voice spoke.

The Chosen, still on their guard, turned almost as one. They relaxed only when they saw a familiar face.

"Yo, Takato! Where were…you…huh?" Daisuke said, speaking first. He spoke excitedly to begin with, but the sight before his eyes quickly caused his voice to fade into confusion. "Um, Takato?"

The now goggle-less child blinked slowly at the Chosen, looking completely nonplused.

"Hm?"

"Um…it's just, uh…what is that?"

Takato looked over his shoulder, confirming that Daisuke was talking about what he thought he was talking about. He blinked slowly again but his expression otherwise didn't change as he looked back at Daisuke.

"A chair. Well…" He trailed off, looking thoughtful, before speaking again. "I guess it's more of a throne, really."

"Er…um…yeah. Yeah, I noticed that." Daisuke continued, somewhat put off by how casually Takato was taking this. "But, uh…why is Guilmon carrying it?"

Takato shrugged.

"Because it's heavy and I could lift it myself, much less pry it out of the ground."

"Ah…I see." Daisuke said, sounding completely serious.

In reality, he had come to the conclusion that the explanation for this was going to be really weird and was debating whether he should ask at all. He was leaning toward 'I don't even want to know.'

Miyako was more to the point, however.

"You pried it out of the ground? Where? No, scratch that; _why_?"

"It was the Kaiser's." Takato said, dropping that bomb like it was nothing. "But it was too awesome for a jerk like him, so Guilmon and I stole it."

"…I'm sorry, what?" Iori asked, trying to make sense of the situation and failing miserably.

Takato sighed, seeing he was going to have to explain.

He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

"The Kaiser had this huge Coliseum thing over that way. He was using it to imprison a bunch of Digimon and force them to fight each other until they collapsed and various other horrible things; you know, the type of stuff you'd expect from the guy."

Hikari was appropriately appalled.

"That's horrible."

"Yeah." Takato nodded, agreeing. "So Guilmon and I raided the place while he was gone. I heard you were nearby, though; was he attacking you guys?"

"Yeah." Daisuke said, steadfastly not asking about what Takato had been doing. It sounded confusing and he felt he'd sound like an idiot if he kept playing along like the others were, since Takato seemed to be deliberately drawing this out. "He jumped us with some Tyrannomon. He outnumbered us and it was close for a minute there, but Takeru showed up. Patamon Armor evolved and everything."

"You attacked it alone?" Takeru demanded, ignoring what Daisuke said entirely.

Takato nodded at him, though he was more interested in what Daisuke said.

Another Armor? Damn…

That brings the enemy forces up to the equivalent of five Adults.

Oh, but Takeru's waiting for a reply, isn't he?

"Yeah, it was easy. Without the Kaiser, there was only one guard; Guilmon took him down and then we freed all the inmates."

"Okay…" Iori said, nodding as he trailed off in thought.

The Kaiser had left his base unguarded; Takato had taken advantage of that opening to mount an attack. It made sense, but…

"But how does that explain the throne." He finished.

Takato shrugged again.

"The Kaiser had it at the Coliseum. After I freed everybody, I had a group of Digimon that hated the Kaiser and I was in the middle of his base, so…We vandalized the hell out of it. We tore apart the gates, grafettied the walls and stairs, put insults all over the place, and then Guilmon and I stole his stuff; spoils of war, etc., etc."

Daisuke laughed at that.

"Oh, man." Daisuke shook his head with a smile. "He is gonna be _pissed_."

"Yeah, cause we like him so much ourselves." Takato replied.

"High five." Daisuke demanded.

Takato complied.

"So…" Takato began. "How was your day, guys?"

**XxXXxX**


	7. Chapter 7: Tag Team

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Seven: Tag Team**

In a room lit only by glowing screens, the Kaiser chuckled.

"Another one becomes mine, hm?"

On a map like screen that had captured his attention, a white square turned black.

**XxXXxX**

"They're called Dark Towers." Takato said, standing with the Chosen.

He'd met up with them the day after he took down the Coliseum and had asked them to follow him. He first took them to the remains of the Coliseum which, as he expected, was empty. Daisuke had a laugh out of his handiwork and the others chuckled, but Takato was more interested in bigger things.

He'd used the directions he'd gotten the day before to find the Dark Tower in the area, using the Coliseum as a starting point. From there, he led them to the Dark Tower.

They now stood atop a nearby hill, looking at it. Takato was taking this opportunity to explain.

Though, it was more like manipulating; he was very careful with what he did and did not say. Lucemon had helped him prepare this speech, actually.

"I don't really understand everything, but…they're how the Kaiser claims an area. I think…I think they're also how he controls all the Digimon he captures with his Rings." Takato said.

"So, then…" Hikari began, starting to frown. "These Towers…are our targets?"

Takato nodded.

"I think so, yeah. The Kaiser himself…I don't think we can track him reliably. If we were in range, maybe our Digivices could find his, but unless we're lucky enough to happen to be in the same area, we pretty much have to wait for him to come to us. I'm trying to find out if he has a base or something, but until I do, we have to leave defeating him as an important but secondary goal."

Takeru nodded.

"If these Towers can free entire areas if destroyed, they're more important. Curing the symptoms isn't as good as dealing with the cause, but until we can find a way to do the latter, we'll have to settle for the former."

"So then, what's the plan?" Miyako asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Daisuke retorted. "We destroy this tower right here!"

Miyako frowned at him.

"I know that! But what about the Towers in general?"

"About that…" Takato began. "I wanted to ask if you and Takeru could help me with something."

She turned away from Daisuke and blinked at his words.

"Ara? Takeru and I?"

Iori seemed to catch on quickly.

"Of course; your partners…"

"Yeah." Takato said, nodding. "Pegasmon and Holsmon are the only ones capable of flying. I wanted to see if you two could scout the surrounding areas for Dark Towers. Guilmon and I have destroyed a few, but it takes awhile to locate the exact location of each Tower. If you can find the Towers then we can all start to deal with them."

Takeru nodded, removing his Digivice from his pocket.

"Got it. Digimental Up!"

"Patamon, Armor shinka! Pegasmon!"

Takeru quickly got onto his partner's back.

"Pegasmon and I will scout the nearby areas right now, since there are enough of you here to take down a single Dark Tower."

Miyako nodded.

"Holsmon and I will join you when you're done."

"Hold on one sec." Takato said, lifting a hand to stop them. "In addition to this Tower, I know of at least one other one. One of the Digimon I freed yesterday, a Gekomon, said that his area had been captured. Guilmon and I will do some scouting ourselves, but if you see anything, could you tell me? I promised I'd help free that area."

"Sure thing." Takeru said as his partner took to the air.

Takato watched him go, feeling satisfied.

Things were going as planned. He'd convinced the Chosen that weakening the Kaiser's hold was the most important issue; easy enough since everything he'd said was true. As a result, they'd be dealing with the Towers, allowing him to accomplish more than if he worked alone.

Honestly, they probably would have found out sooner or later, but this way he could earn a little more trust by giving useful information while also speeding things along.

In addition, Takeru and Miyako would now scout the surrounding areas for him, allowing him to deal with other things rather than gather information himself.

Perfect.

**XxXXxX**

"Hey, Takato. You haven't met the others yet, have you?" Hikari asked an hour later.

The others?

Takato quickly searched his mind, trying to figure out who she was talking about.

The answer hit him like a lightning bolt it was so obvious.

"Oh, you mean the older Chosen?" Takato replied finally. "No, I've never met them."

Not face to face, at least. He'd watched the show, though.

He'd even tried to kill three of them.

Took a pretty good stab at it in one case, too.

"Then why don't you come meet them today? You always vanish after everything's over, so we've never gotten a chance to introduce you to them?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that." Takato said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

He used his act to buy time as his mind raced.

Was there a problem with meeting the other Chosen? He didn't see one, but…

He hadn't actually avoided them; not really. It's just that he usually logged out of the game after everything important was done.

Had he been acting suspiciously without knowing?

No, he told himself, calming down. He'd met Koushiro face to face already and there hadn't been any problems. Besides which, it's only been a few days; he could pass off not seeing them in that time as needing to head home so as to not arouse suspicion.

In that case…

There shouldn't be a problem?

He'd have to avoid making more people suspicious, but…

"But you're right; I haven't met them yet. I should do something about that…" Takato said, trailing off. "And there's no time like the present…Why not? Let's go after we finish up here, okay?"

What could go wrong, after all?

**XxXXxX**

Takato felt his heart nearly stop and he wanted to eat those words.

'What could go wrong' indeed.

Quite a bit, apparently.

He now stood facing a television screen. It was just like the ones he used to create his own portals.

And that was the problem.

The older Chosen were apparently waiting in the 'Real World.'

A world that didn't exist.

So what would happen if he tried to go through the gate?

Most likely…nothing.

Or maybe what happened every time he went through the gate; he'd end up back in the Dark Area.

Either way, he'd show for his absence.

And how would he explain that?

'You're video game characters; I can't go to your world because your world doesn't exist.' – No.

'For some reason, I can't go through the gate.' – No. That would lead to questions that he couldn't answer.

'When I go through the computer, I log out of the computer I logged into.' – That had potential…They said they always exited out of the computer in their school lab, didn't they?

Takato took a deep breath, his alibi now ready. If they passed through the gate and he was left behind, he'd just enter the Dark Area. Then he'd wait a few minutes, pass through the portal, find the Chosen, and feed them a lie.

Sadly, that wasn't the end of his problems.

That was the main problem and he was glad that he had a solution to it, but…

What if they asked _him_ to open the gate?

Unlike the uncertainty involved with the first problem, he was well aware of what would happen in that case; he'd be sucked into the Dark Area.

But…

Would they be taken with him?

How would he explain _that_?

And what if they were left behind? That would raise questions, too…

Hell, even ignoring the Dark Area problem…

What about his Digivice?

He'd seen the other versions, both in the game and the show. And his Digivice didn't look like either version of theirs.

And it made sense; he was the protagonist of the game! It wasn't strange that he was unique! A unique partner, a unique Digivice…

But the thing about being unique?

It makes it hard to look normal.

The easiest way to handle that problem would be to simply not let it become an issue.

Hikari and the others stood by him and he smiled at her.

"Could you open the gate, please?" He asked.

"Sure."

That was simple.

She lifted her Digivice to the screen. Takato prepared himself for whatever came next. Whether he was left behind or sucked into the Dark Area, he was prepared.

Surprisingly, the one thing he _wasn't_ prepared for was the simplest option.

The gate working as intended.

**XxXXxX**

The first thing he realized was that it felt different.

Travelling to the Dark Area always felt…cold? That wasn't the right word. It felt…like the opposite of the Digital World. That was a better example. And travelling from one to the other was always like stepping from a hot room to a cold one or vice versa.

But this was different. It was like going from 'hot' to 'cold;' it was more like going from 'wet' to 'dry.' Like he had gone from swimming in the ocean to walking in the desert.

Yes, without a doubt, something was gone. Something that had always been in both the Digital World and the Dark Area.

The feeling of the game, Takato thought. He'd noticed that the game world felt different from the real world. In fact…

This is what the real world felt like, he realized.

Had he logged out?

"So, this must be Takato." A voice asked.

"Yeah, that's him all right." Another replied.

It was only then that Takato noticed he was on the ground. Not only that, but he was feeling dizzy.

He never felt like this when he logged out. And why would he be on the floor.

Takato quickly scrambled to his feet.

He saw Taichi first and then Koushiro. They were the only older Chosen he saw, but all the younger ones were still on the floor in a pile. The other Digimon were off to the side but he didn't see Guilmon.

He was still in the game.

He tried to recover.

"Ah, yeah, I'm Takato. And you're…Taichi?" He asked as if he didn't know. "Hello again, Koushiro."

"Yo." The Chosen of Knowledge replied.

"That'd be me." Taichi answered. "We didn't know you were coming."

"Ah…Hikari sorta sprang it on me, too. And I realized that besides Koushiro, I haven't met any of you."

Taichi looked thoughtful.

"Well…Mimi's probably not coming today. She's still…recovering." Taichi said as he and Koushiro exchanged looks.

"Jyou's having a hard time avoiding suspicion; I told him to take a few days to come up with something." Koushiro offered, changing the subject.

Taichi winced.

"Yeah, well, that's probably my fault. I've had him working overtime watching Sora."

Takato knew what had happened to Sora, but he also realized they didn't, and shouldn't, know he knew.

"What's wrong with Sora?" He asked.

Taichi's smile tightened and became a little less real.

"Sorry." Takato said, realizing that it was probably a sore subject for them.

He'd forgotten that he was supposed to actually care.

"Not your fault." Taichi waved off. "Sora's just…injured."

Koushiro came to the rescue again.

"But Yamato should be here by now…I wonder what's taking him…"

There was a groan behind him. Takato looked back and realized why he hadn't seen Guilmon. He'd somehow ended up underneath the others.

That couldn't have been comfortable, which was probably why he was lifting all of them in an attempt to extract himself.

"Oh, I'm being rude." Takato said. "We haven't been formally introduced, huh? I'm Matsuda Takato and this is my partner Guilmon."

Taichi chuckled.

"Yagami Taichi; my partner Agumon is in the Digital World."

"Izumi Koushiro; Tentomon's with Agumon."

Takato had a sudden thought.

He glanced again at the Younger Chosen and then at their partners.

Patamon and Tailmon had been unaffected by the shift in worlds, but the other Digimon had reverted to their Baby forms. Taichi and Koushiro didn't have their partners with them at all and if Yamato was coming as well, he might not either.

None of them are expecting an attack, he realized.

He glanced back to Guilmon. If he evolved him, Growmon could probably kill everyone present, no problem. The damage he'd cause just by his massive increase in size alone might do it; the damage to this building and the resulting rubble might kill everyone in here.

But it might kill him, too, he thought before something struck him.

Only if he was in the same _room_.

Which he didn't _have_ to be to evolve Guilmon.

"Um, excuse me, but if we're waiting for Yamato, I'd like to go to the bathroom." Takato said, going for a classic excuse. "Do you know where it is?"

"Down the hall to your left. Ow." Daisuke said, as he stood up. Ignoring Guilmon, he'd been at the bottom of the pile and the last to stand up. "We have _got_ to work on those landings, guys. Seriously."

Takato had looked at the goggled teen while he was talking, but now he was ignoring him utterly.

He had eyes only for what was behind him.

As if in a trance, Takato walked to the window of the computer lab and gazed out.

A city's skyline greeted his eyes. He could see cars in the streets, people milling about, and birds in the air…

Odaiba, he thought. The home of the Chosen.

But…

Why did it look so real?

"Ah…thanks Daisuke. I'll…be right back." Takato said distractedly before leaving.

He had to talk to Lucemon.

**XxXXxX**

Takato opened the bathroom door and ducked in quickly. He immediately stuck his head back out and looked both ways down the hall, making sure no one was in sight or coming.

No one.

Perfect.

He pulled back into the room and looked around; making sure nobody else was inside.

Once again, there was no one.

Well, it was after school…

Takato was aware that he was acting really suspiciously. Anybody who saw him would think he was up to something, he knew, but he couldn't help it.

If one of the Chosen walked in on him…

As sure that he was safe as he had any hope of being, Takato pulled out his Digivice.

"Lucemon…Lucemon, can you hear me? Lucemon, can you hear what I'm saying from wherever I am?"

"_Yes, Takato, I can hear you. Is something wrong?" _Lucemon asked, seeming quite calm.

Takato, on the other hand, wasn't calm at all.

"I-I don't know. Hikari asked me to go with the others and meet the older Chosen-"

"_As expected, really. You've know them for a few days and you've become part of the team, but you haven't met half the members? It'd be weird if they didn't introduce you eventually."_

"Yeah, so I agreed, since I didn't want to seem suspicious. It's not like I was avoiding the older Chosen or anything, I just didn't think of it. So, I agreed and followed them. But then they led me to one of the gates; you know, the Television things."

"_Yes, Takato; I did program the game, after all. So then what?"_

"So, for a minute there, I was worried. I wasn't sure what would happen when they opened the gate. I thought I might be left behind or sent to the Dark Area like when I usually open gates, but I made plans for that, just in case."

"_Uh-huh. And?"_

"And I convinced Hikari to open the gate so I wouldn't have to reveal my Digivice. I didn't want them asking question and I didn't know what would happen. I was worried I might suck them into the Dark Area, too."

"_And…?"_

Takato took a deep breath, ready to drop the bomb.

"And now I'm in the Real World of Digimon Adventure."

The was a silence after his words before Lucemon spoke, sounding impatient.

"…_And?"_

"And! And…what the hell is going on! I'm in the Real World! And the Chosen are with me! And I'm not in my house!"

"…_Are you going somewhere with this?"_

Takato took a deep, aggravated breath and forced down his panic.

"Lucemon, what's going on?" He demanded.

"_I don't understand the question."_

Takato grit his teeth.

"Where am I right now, Lucemon?" He asked instead.

"_Currently, you are in the 'Real World' level."_

Now they were getting somewhere.

"So I'm still in the game?"

"…_Takato, you thought you weren't in the game? You said you weren't in your room; what did you think happened? Did you think you teleported to Odaiba? Wait, no…"_ Takato couldn't see the angel, but he could almost hear the frown in his voice. Lucemon was quiet for a minute as he seemed to mull something over and when he spoke, his voice was dubious. _"Let me get this straight; you thought that, what? You thought you'd been sucked into your computer, out of your room, and sent into another Dimension in which an Angelic Overlord had been trapped and he'd drawn you there, seeking aid from a young Japanese child? And that from that dimension, you then traveled into another one, the one that you'd seen on your favorite TV show? From which you then travelled into an alternate 'Real World,' which is inhabited by the characters of that show?"_

Takato felt his face flush, but said nothing.

"_Oh my God, you totally did!"_ Lucemon said with glee, laughing at him.

"Shut up!" Takato retorted. "It's because everything in this game looks so real!"

"_I'll take that as a complement to my skills."_ Lucemon said before his voice became more serious. _"Takato, this is just another level of the game. You haven't seen it much, because it hasn't really been relevant to you, but I'll try to explain. In the actual game, when it comes out, players will take the role of humans in this 'Real World.' Shortly after the game begins, I will summon them to the Dark Area and give them their mission like I gave you yours. When they exit the Digital World, they'll return to the 'Real World' rather than entering the Dark Area like you do. A large part of the game would be focused in the Real World itself as players interact with the Chosen, try to keep their identities hidden from the enemy, and more. There are even a few sports based minigames and it's possible to start relationships with the Chosen."_

Takato hadn't heard about that and was understandably surprised.

"Then why aren't I doing that?"

"_Honestly, the main reason is because we wanted you to test the game-play and mechanics of the game more then we wanted you to test the character interaction stuff; we wanted to make sure we hadn't screwed something up or made things too broken before introducing you to the character building portion. That's why you don't even have a house or family in the 'Real World.' Since you're there anyway, though, I guess now would be a good time to start."_

Takato nodded, but…

A part of him still doubted.

This game…everything in it was so real.

He had to ask, just to make sure, even though he knew Lucemon was going to mock him for it.

"…This is just a game, right? I'm still in the game, aren't I? Right, Lucemon?"

He heard Lucemon sigh.

"_You still think your favorite TV show characters are real?"_

"No!" Takato immediately protested. "It's not the people in it; it's how real this place looks."

"_I'll tell you what. How about you go find a phone. There is one in the principal's office; I'll guide you there. It's locked, but I know where a spare key is, _because I programmed the game_. This will be part of a little mini-quest in the actual game. I'll get you into the office, okay? And then, call your parents. Your friends. Your…I don't know, your teacher. Everyone you want. They won't be there, though, because this is a game. I'll just have random 'people' speak to you on the other side. After you do that, will you be convinced?"_

Takato was silent for a minute before speaking.

"Yeah. Yeah, I will be." He said.

"_Good. Let's go, then."_

**XxXXxX**

Takato looked silently at the phone in his hand for a minute before closing his eyes.

"Hmph."

He put the phone back where it belonged.

As Lucemon had said, he'd been acting irrationally. He'd called his house and then Hirokazu, Kenta, and, after the partner of not reaching his intended target became clear, even Juri.

None of them had answered. Instead, there had either been no answer at all or someone he didn't know had picked up.

This was just a game. No matter how real it looked, it wasn't real.

In that case…

"I better get back to the others, Lucemon; given how long I've been gone already, they're probably suspicious by now."

"_Probably. What do you intend to do now?"_

Takato sighed.

"I apologize again for my sudden loss of sense, but now that it's passed, I'm going to get back to work."

"_How so?"_

"First things first; I'm going to kill the Chosen."

"…_You know, I've already noticed that you seem completely incapable of sticking to a plan, but sure, I'll bite. Why are you abandoning your original plan to set the Kaiser and the Chosen against one another _this_ time?"_

"Hey, no need to sound so bored; this time, I actually have a good reason." Takato protested.

"_Oh, this should be good."_

Takato ignored him.

"You see, the original plan was based on one important assumption: that I could not defeat both the Chosen and the Kaiser alone. And this was correct, with emphasis on was."

"_Oh?"_

Despite himself, Lucemon sounded interested.

"You see, currently, the Chosen are scattered and weak. The partners of the Newer Chosen, with the exception of Tailmon and Patamon, have all reverted to their Baby forms after they entered the Real World. The two present Older Chosen, Taichi and Koushiro, don't have partners at all right now. Sora is out of the picture due to her injuries, Mimi is drowning in grief, Jyou is being cornered be real life, and I can deal with Takeru and Hikari. If I were to evolve Growmon right now, the destruction his sudden growth alone would cause will probably kill most of the Chosen, or at least badly injure them. At that point, he could just deal with whoever is left behind."

"_Hm…and the Kaiser?"_

"The Kaiser also lives in this world, right? His name is Ken; I know that much. All I have to do is find him and I can deal with him, too."

"_A good plan, but it has some flaws."_ Lucemon was quick to point out. _"First of all, you're not going to be dealing with him if he catches wind of you killing the others."_

Takato frowned for a second.

"The School is empty right now. If we kill the Chosen, I'll devolve Guilmon and we'll escape. Even if someone sees, what are they going to say? A giant dinosaur did it and then shrunk and escaped?" He said after a moment's thought.

"_Second of all, what if it doesn't work? Everything you've worked for will go down the drain."_

Takato hadn't thought of the first question, but he had this one covered.

"Even if Growmon's evolution doesn't kill the others, his massive increase in size will crush all the computers in the lab for sure. We just have to kill everyone before they find another one and we're golden. Hell, even if they find another computer, we just have to destroy it before they escape."

Lucemon continued on as if he hadn't said anything.

"_And third of all, you have forgotten to account for one thing."_

Takato blinked in surprise at that. He searched his brain for whatever it was that he was missing, but couldn't think of anything.

"What?" He finally asked.

"_Yamato. Also, duck."_

"Wha…?" Takato said, not understanding.

Suddenly, his eyes widened against his will and he dropped to the ground.

"Shit!" He swore.

Ishida Yamato rushed down the hall, breezing right passed the Principal's office without glancing inside.

Takato was pretty sure he didn't see him, but…

Why was he here?

"_Didn't you wonder where Yamato was? Takato, your plan was okay, but you can't forget to account for variables."_ Lucemon chided after he was gone. _"In this case, a missing Chosen and an angel that's trying to make you suffer."_

"Damn it, Lucemon! I'm not surprised you got overthrown!"

**XxXXxX**

Takato had to force the disappointment off of his face as he approached the computer lab.

Technically, he could still go through with the plan and evolve Growmon and see what happened.

But Lucemon was right; he'd neglected to account for an important variable. He no longer knew the exact details of the situation.

Well, he doubted they would leave without him, so they were still probably in the computer lab…

He entertained that thought for a moment before dismissing it. It was probably true, but it was still risky to try. He hadn't told Guilmon about his plan, knowing that he could just evolve his partner and tell him to kill everything in sight. But what if Guilmon had moved, then? What if he was right next to a wall or a window? What if the Chosen had moved to the other side of the room? If Guilmon evolved, the walls near him would break and his growth would have less effect on the Chosen; it might not even crush all the computers.

Unlikely, he knew, but Lucemon was right; he hadn't accounted for all the variables. And now the only way to do so was to look inside the room.

Of course, if he looked in, he would likely be seen and if he was seen, he couldn't really just fade away afterwards.

No, he'd just postpone the plan for now, he decided. At this point, it would be easier to just wait until he had a better chance than it would be to try and force this situation to work without giving himself away.

With that in mind, Takato opened the door without any hesitation and walked inside.

"Sorry I'm late guys, but since we were done for the day, I decided to take a look at your school." Takato said, which was kinda true. "But I saw someone rushing this way. Is everything okay."

Taichi glanced his way and nodded at him.

"Yeah, it's fine. Takato, this is Takeru's older brother Yamato." He introduced his friend.

"Matsuda Takato. I've heard about you, but I didn't think you were coming today." Takato said, carefully keeping his irritation out of his voice.

"Ah, yeah…" Yamato said sheepishly. "I got roped into band practice and I couldn't figure out how to escape without sound suspicious. But…"

"Is it about the SOS?" Takeru asked.

Takato very nearly asked 'What SOS' but managed to keep his mouth shut just in case it was something he _should_ know about.

Yamato nodded.

"Gabumon's in trouble." He said grimly.

Koushiro frowned.

"But how did the Kaiser figure out that Gabumon was your partner?" He asked.

Takato decided to point out the obvious.

"Well, you guys did save the Digital World, after all. I'm sure it wouldn't be _that_ hard to find out some stuff about you guys, even if it was just rumors." He said. "I mean, that's how I heard about you guys."

Well, actually, he'd just watched the show.

Taichi nodded after a moment.

"In that case, we can't consider the Digital World a safe place for our partners, anymore. We had them working in the Digital World whenever we were forced to return to the Real World, but if the Kaiser knows about them…"

Takato realized he'd just shot himself in the foot. He hadn't even thought about it, but the Chosen leaving their partners in the Digital World gave him a huge advantage; he could pick off both the Chosen and their partners, one by one.

"Well, I guess we don't know that for sure." He said, thinking fast. "I mean, the Kaiser has been taking over entire areas; it was only a matter of time before he got to one with one of your partners."

Wait, that doesn't help…

Hikari spoke up then.

"At this point, we really can't say _why_ Gabumon's in trouble, only that he is and that we need to do something about it." She said.

"And we can't do anything about it in the Real World." Her brother added.

"In that case…" Miyako lifted her Digivice. "Let's roll."

**XxXXxX**

"Gabumon!" Yamato shouted the moment he landed in the Digital World.

Takato was busy wondering why he'd managed to land on his feet this time, but not in the Real World. That lead to him wondering why he hadn't landed on his feet in the Real World in the first place.

"Y-Yamato?" Gabumon asked weakly as he struggled to stand.

Yamato rushed towards his partner. The others followed him after a moment of surprise while Takato and Guilmon stayed back.

He had a reason.

The Tamer frowned as he looked around. Gabumon looked injured but…it didn't make sense.

"Oi, Guilmon, do you smell any Digimon around here?" He asked.

The red Digimon gestured vaguely at the others. Takato kept himself from rolling his eyes.

"Besides them."

Guilmon began sniffing the air before turning towards the forest. Takato followed his eyes.

The forest was pretty far away…why would Gabumon be here if the only Digimon nearby were in the forest? Was he escaping from the forest?

"The river." Takato realized.

"I was thinking the same thing." A voice behind him said, nearly causing Takato to jump.

He turned around, facing the TV screen once more. And on that screen he saw…

Koushiro?

The Chosen of Knowledge obviously noticed Takato's confusion.

"I'll be backing you up from this side, for now. Tentomon isn't in the area and he wouldn't be able to evolve even if he was."

Takato nodded slowly at that.

"Ah! Koushiro!" Hikari said, attracted by her friend's voice. Even without looking, Takato could tell that the others were coming, too.

He glanced back at them, pass them, and looked at the river. It seemed to be coming from…

"Koushiro, can you tell me anything about the areas in that direction?" He asked.

Koushiro's eyes shifted as he began to type; Takato guessed there was something else on the screen that he was looking at.

"No need." Gabumon said in a faint voice. "I know the entire area. I'll take you there."

Takato looked at him. He looked…

Beaten. Badly beaten. As if someone had pounded him and pounded him and thrown him around.

He didn't look like he was in any condition to lead anybody anywhere.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Yamato asked.

"He's right, Gabumon." Takeru said, looking worried. He obviously cared a great deal for his brother's partner. "No offense, but you don't look so good."

Gabumon shook his head, panting.

"I'm okay." He said, though he obviously wasn't okay. "The town is called Santa Geria. It's…it's a place that I want to protect. It's a peaceful town, but when the Kaiser appeared, all the Digimon in the town were imprisoned."

It was easy to tell that Gabumon felt strongly about saving the town, but…

Takato weighed his options.

On one hand, having someone who knew the area and could guide them through it was always better than going in blind.

On the other hand, having such a badly beaten Digimon with them could be a liability.

Well, it's not like he really cared whether Gabumon was hurt or not, but could he really guide them? He looked like he could barely walk.

Takato sighed.

"Guilmon, do me a favor and please carry Gabumon."

**XxXXxX**

"A Dark Tower." Takeru said, nodded towards where the spire rose into the sky.

"It's to be expected." Takato said, shrugging it off. "Dark Towers and the Kaiser go hand in hand, after all."

Hikari frowned as she looked up at the Kaiser's monument.

"Gabumon, when did the Kaiser build it?" She asked.

"Earlier today." The carried Digimon replied. "He came, took over with his slaves, erected the tower, and then left."

Takato had a thought.

"How long did it take him to build the tower?" He wondered.

Gabumon looked thoughtful for a moment.

"A few hours, maybe. Two?"

Takato frowned at that.

"What's up?" Daisuke asked him.

"I'm just thinking. If the Kaiser can construct a Dark Tower in two hours and, assuming these conditions allowed for average building speed, that can be taken as a usual amount of time to build a tower, then…"

Iori looked up at him.

"He might be able to build them faster then we can destroy them."

Miyako shook her head.

"We managed to bring down those towers earlier without too much trouble." She disagreed.

"Yeah, but didn't you notice?" Tailmon finally spoke up.

"What?" Daisuke asked.

V-mon glanced at his partner.

"It was basically deserted, Daisuke." He said.

Takato nodded.

"What he said. That area was the same one we dealt with the day before." He said. "You freed five Tyrannomon and I freed all the Digimon at that Coliseum. Sure, he still had the Dark Towers up, but that area was basically worthless to him."

Takeru looked at him.

"Do you think he withdrew from that area?"

Hikari frowned.

"But then, what about the areas around it; they were nearly empty as well. There were just some token guards."

Miyako, whose head had tilted in though, suddenly widened her eyes.

"It was a trap." She said. "Well, no, not a trap. It was a…"

"Diversion." Daisuke growled.

"He withdrew from that area and the areas around them, taking everything valuable with him, including all the Digimon he'd enslaved." Takeru said in dawning understanding. "And then he'd used them to conquer this area while we were busy wasting our time."

"Then maybe…was he really after Gabumon, then? Attacking a weak point while we wasted time?" Iori wondered.

Takato squinted.

"Even ignoring Gabumon, this makes sense as a target. It's not just a random area; it's an actual city of Digimon. It's small in size, but I bet it has a higher population density then most areas of its size…"

Daisuke clinched a hand into a fist.

"Damn it! We got played!"

Yamato, who'd been silent up until then, finally spoke.

"Yes. We did. We got tricked and, quite frankly, we lost that round utterly. I suppose the question is…what are we gonna do about it?"

Daisuke and Takato looked at each other in perfect unison.

Takato was surprised to realize something.

Daisuke had looked to him as if he was the leader…and he'd done the same, looking at Daisuke. He'd thought of Daisuke as the leader of the Chosen unconsciously; he couldn't say why exactly, but now that he was thinking about it, he could come up with all sorts of reasons. Because he had gotten his Digivice and partner first. Because he was so much like Taichi. Because of the goggles.

But Daisuke had looked at him, too, and that he didn't quite understand.

He'd helped out, sure; he'd saved Iori and Miyako. He'd confronted the Kaiser personally. He'd given information. But he hadn't realized how that would look to someone who didn't know that he was an enemy.

But…

Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

"Daisuke, could I speak with you for a minute?" He asked.

**XxXXxX**

"Daisuke, there are some things we need to talk about." He said as the two of them went off to the side. Their partners followed close behind, but respectfully kept their distance.

"What about?"

"About this place. Santa Geria. The main goal of this mission is, of course, to save the people the Kaiser has captured. That comes before anything else; that's the most important thing. No matter what, we have to take down that tower. But…"

"But?" Daisuke urged on.

"We have to do this as quickly as possible." Takato said seriously. "If we can't destroy the Towers at least as fast as he makes them, we'll always be a step behind. We have to move fast and to move fast, I think we need a leader."

"Yeah. I, uh…I agree. And I think-"

"And I think that leader is you, Daisuke." Takato continued, cutting him off.

"That- wha-what!"

"I saw your face a minute ago, Daisuke, when you looked at me for leadership. But _you_ are the leader here, Daisuke. I'm the new guy who just strolled in one day and I don't want to make it seem like I'm stealing your place."

"What do you mean…?"

"I mean that, basically, I think that if I was the leader of this team it would do more harm than good. I'm the new guy. I just waltzed onto the scene a few days ago and got involved. But at the end of the day, they don't know me. They don't know anything about me. And I don't think they can really trust me, yet. And I don't think I have any right to try to make them trust me; that's something that comes with time."

"But…the same is true for me." Daisuke said. "Just a few days ago, I'd only known Hikari and Taichi; I'm new to the group, too."

"Yes, but only to a point. They know you; maybe only a little, but all of the younger Chosen go to the same school as you and Taichi is the leader of the older Chosen. More than that…" Takato made himself look serious. "I'm not sure why, it could just be because I enter the Digital World through a different computer, but…I'm pretty sure you've noticed that I usually show up separately from you guys and we have to meet up. And I'm always late to the party, because I have to go all the way home because of my family. If things get serious, that could be a liability."

Daisuke slowly nodded so Takato continued.

"The Chosen need a leader that they can rely on, both as a person and to be there when it counts. Currently, I can't give them the former and I might never be able to guarantee the latter. But maybe you can." He said.

Daisuke looked back at the others and was silent for a moment.

"What about Yamato?" He said, nodding towards the Chosen of Friendship. "Or Taichi?"

"They could both do it." Takato admitted. "In fact, most of the older Chosen could do it. But they all share the same flaw; none of them can evolve while the Kaiser is around. They have the wisdom, but on the battlefield they are…it sounds cold, but they're a liability. If a fight breaks out, at least one Digimon has to waste time defending them. And it's not like we have any way of communicating with them at range except with the televisions. It has to be one of us."

"But then…why me? Why not Hikari or Takeru? They both have experience, too."

"Yes. Both of them might be able to do it, Daisuke." Takato said, putting a hand on his 'friend's' shoulder. "But I believe in you Daisuke. I think you're the best choice."

He was silent for a moment.

"Okay." Daisuke said finally. "I'll try on one condition."

"What?"

"You'll help me, right?" Daisuke pleaded. "Two is better than one, isn't it? Then, can't we just lead together."

Takato sighed but still smiled.

"Okay." He said. "Let's get back to the others."

**XxXXxX**

That went well, Takato thought to himself.

At first, the thought of becoming the leader of the Chosen had been attractive, but then he'd thought about what that had meant.

It meant leading the troops. As he'd said, amongst the Chosen, there wasn't any sort of long range communication. There was no 'leading from behind.' If he was the leader, he'd need to be in the thick of things every time something happened.

No thanks.

And he couldn't really abuse his authority. The Chosen were really an informal group; if he failed, he'd be replaced easily and that'd be it. Not to mention, any traps he lead them into would involve having to walk into them himself.

So then it came down to one thing. If not him, who should lead?

The older Chosen would have been best, since they couldn't evolve; he could exploit that weakness, forcing the others on the defensive…

But if he was smart enough to notice that, so were they. It wasn't possible.

It had to be someone who could evolve their partner, or whose partner was strong enough already. Basically, the new Chosen.

Iori was discarded almost immediately; it'd be hard to justify electing the youngest and most inexperienced of the Chosen.

Then came Takeru and Hikari. Daisuke was right; they would make good leaders. They had more experience than the others and if they could find a way around the Dark Towers, they'd have access to Angemon again. And if they got to Perfect again…

Takato didn't want them as leaders. They were the best possible choice for the Chosen and the worst for him.

So it came down to Miyako and Daisuke. He'd just decided that Daisuke would be easier to convince.

No…maybe that wasn't the only reason.

He'd seen the show and had been playing the game. The goggles, the partner, the Crest of Courage, all those things…

It was obvious.

Daisuke was meant to be the Taichi of the new group.

But…

How dangerous was he? He knew how dangerous the Older Chosen were; same for Hikari and Takeru.

But what about the remaining three?

How dangerous were they to him?

He wanted to know.

And there was only one way to find out.

**XxXXxX**

"Before we do anything, remember that our goal is to free the captured Digimon." Yamato said, repeating Takato's words.

"I know!" Daisuke said, looking and sounding determined. "It'll be easy with Armor Evolution!"

"We can't do that!" Takeru immediately disagreed. "If we do that, they could use the captured Digimon as shields."

Daisuke immediately deflated. Takato noticed and cut in.

He couldn't have people questioning Daisuke's leadership before anything had even started, after all.

"While that's true, I've actually had to fight my way to a Tower before and if this one is anything like it, it'll be surrounded by guards. As in, multiple Adult Digimon. Daisuke's right; if we go in there without using any evolutions, we'll get slaughtered. And it's not like it would make a difference even if we didn't evolve; we're a bunch of humans in the Digital World. There are literally only thirteen of us in this entire world and the Kaiser has seen our faces. Our Digimon probably aren't familiar sights around here, either, and the Kaiser has seen them too. No matter what we do, if we walk in there, we're going to be recognized. We might as well have our Digimon with us. And…"

Takato paused, wondering if he should say this; it seemed cold. That didn't really bother him, but would it give something away?

He wasn't sure.

But he said it anyway.

"Guys, I know this is going to sound really cold, but frankly, we can't let things like hostages get in the way."

"What!" Miyako asked, shocked.

"Wait! Let me finish!" Takato said, holding up a hand. "I know that the most important thing is saving the Digital World and the Digimon, but the only real way to do that is to stop the Kaiser. And we can't do that if we hesitate and falter every time he uses a hostage."

"What are you talking about!" Hikari demanded.

Surprisingly, it was Iori who realized it first. Takato made a mental note to keep an eye on that kid; he was smarter then he appeared.

"This world is his hostage." The youngest Chosen said.

"Huh? What do you mean, Iori?" Miyako asked, still not catching on.

"The Kaiser has already conquered massive swaths of the Digital World. He's taken control of this area, but it's nowhere near the only one. He already has thousands of hostages."

Takato nodded at him.

"If we're going to stop every time the Kaiser _could_ use a hostage then we've already been defeated; there is literally nowhere in this world that he _could not_ use a hostage. But it's more than that. Besides the captured Digimon in that town, which I don't think for a second were spared Evil Rings for any reason except to screw with our heads and force us into this situation, there are other Digimon the Kaiser could use."

Takeru's eyes widened in realization before narrowing dangerously.

"The enslaved Digimon." He snarled.

"He was using the Coliseum to force Digimon to battle each other. I don't know if he forced them to kill each other, but it's safe to assume that he has more than enough control over them to use them as hostages as well as soldiers."

"B-but then…" Hikari said, paling at the implications.

"We have to save the Digimon." Takato said, continuing his speech. "But to do that, we have to stop the Kaiser. And we can't do that if we stop every time someone is in danger. Maybe we could save everyone in here without anyone getting hurt. But even if we do, so what? Then he just wises up and uses them against us next time. If we stop, we've already lost! We have to keep moving forward or stagnate and die!"

"Then what do we do?" Yamato asked.

Takato glanced at Daisuke, silently telling him to do his job.

"That Tower." The goggle-wearing boy immediately said. "If we destroy that Tower, all the enslaved Digimon will be freed. Even if the Kaiser has a hundred hostages here, it doesn't matter if we can take away all control he has over this area before he can use it."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Takato said, backing him up.

"Yes." Yamato said impatiently. "But how do we do that? As you said, we'll stand out if we try to go through the village."

Daisuke frowned in thought.

"Then we won't go through the village. Miyako, Takeru, can Hawkmon and Patamon carry us?" Daisuke asked.

Miyako did a head count while Takeru just replied.

"No. At least, not all of us. If they carried Miyako and I, then they could only carry one other passenger comfortably. Maybe a human and a Child Digimon, but it'd be a really tight fit and I wouldn't want to get in a fight while doing so." Takeru said.

Daisuke bit his lip.

"What about Tailmon and Guilmon. They're Adults, but they're pretty small."

Takeru looked at the two speculatively.

"I know Pegasmon can carry Hikari and Tailmon. Could you carry Takato and Guilmon, Miyako?"

Miyako opened her mouth to respond but hesitated, unsure.

Takato gestured dismissively.

"Don't bother. While we might be able to pull that off, it would involve sending only part of the group into the middle of an enemy stronghold and Holsmon and Pegasmon might be spotted at a distance. It's too risky. No, we can't go over the village and we can't go through it. So I guess we'll just have to go under it, huh? Iori, can you dig us a tunnel?"

The youngest Chosen already had his Digivice in his hand.

"Consider it done."

**XxXXxX**

Digmon's drills suddenly stopped spinning.

Takato could only see by the fight Fladramon cast down here, but that told him enough.

"Why have we stopped?" He asked.

They obviously hadn't broken through to the surface; if they had, they would be able to see light.

"We're near the Dark Tower." Iori said. "I asked Digmon to stop when we were close enough, but before breaking through. If something has gone wrong, this is our last chance to realize it before walking into it."

"Good thinking, Iori." Daisuke complemented.

"How close are we?" Takato asked.

Iori looked at his partner.

"About three feet up, but I'm drilling at an angle so you all can walk up it. So about…ten meters before we reach the surface?"

Takato frowned.

"I don't know about you, but I can't hear anything through three meters of dirt." He pointed out. "I can't see anything through it, either, for obvious reasons. Taste, touch, and smell are useless in this situation, too. Guilmon?"

Guilmon shook his head. He couldn't detect anything either, even with his superior senses.

Takato itched to just take out his Digivice. He could use the scanner on that to learn everything he needed to know.

But he suppressed the urge. Nothing said weird like whipping out strange new devices.

"Does anybody down here have a way to check out what's going on up there or shall we charge forth into the great unknown?" Yamato asked.

"Digmon?" Iori asked.

His partner had pressed his drills into the ground again, but he wasn't drilling.

"I can sort of sense things when they move." Digmon said. "I can't really explain it properly, but I can sort of tell where things are while I'm digging."

Miyako gasped.

"Of course! Vibrations!"

"What?" Daisuke asked.

"Digmon can sense vibrations; he can tell where things are by detecting their movements, even without seeing them." She explained.

"Well, what do you see, Digmon?" Iori asked.

"…There's something up there. A lot of somethings, actually." Digmon said after a moment of silence.

"Can you tell what they are?" Daisuke said.

Digmon shook his head.

"Maybe if they were underground and nearby I could tell their general shape and size, but my senses aren't good enough to determine something's shape based on the vibrations caused by its feet."

"It's fine; we already know who they are." Takato said.

Daisuke looked at him in surprise.

"We do?"

Takato nodded silently.

"This close to the Dark Tower, it has to be the Digimon the Kaiser enslaved." Takato stated. "Gabumon, who are they?"

Everyone's eyes turned towards the injured Digimon Guilmon still carried.

"Vegimon, probably. They're the Digimon the Kaiser left in charge of this area. The RedVegimon that leads them might be there, too."

"Vegimon? There were Vegimon at the Tower I attacked, too." Takato said, looking upwards speculatively.

He nodded to himself.

"We might as we play it safe, though. Daisuke and I will distract them." Takato said. "Digmon, carve us a path to the surface like you intended. Then circle around to the other side of the Dark Tower. Daisuke and I will deal with the Digimon; you guys deal with the Dark Tower. Agreed?"

"I'm up for it." Daisuke said. "Fladramon?"

"Good to go."

"Guilmon?" Takato mimicked.

"I'm ready."

"Guilmon, put Gabumon down." Yamato asked. "Are you up to walking, Gabumon."

"I'm strong enough for this." Gabumon said, and though he didn't look good, he stood on his own.

"Then here we go." Takato said. "Come on, Daisuke. Everyone else…we'll see you topside."

**XxXXxX**

The Vegimon never saw it coming. One moment, they stood in a ring around the Dark Tower, protecting it as they had been ordered.

And the next…

Guilmon and Fladramon exploded from the earth. Both creatures roared to the heavens as they returned to see the sky, drawing any attention that had not already been drawn. Red light spelt from between the razors of Guilmon's mouth as fire washed over the length of Fladramon's body.

And behind them, two creatures climbed from the earth.

The Vegimon had never seen humans before, and now that they did they could only think, through the binding fog over their captive minds, what strange creatures they were.

And as they stepped above ground, they looked around and one, the one without goggles, spoke.

"I hereby name this place the Santa Geria Mosh Pit!" He declared, pointing at them. "_My will be done_!"

Fladramon fell upon them a moment later. His thunderous crash was drowned out by the explosion Guilmon made before the red Digimon charged through the smoke the join the party.

As Fladramon's fist connected with his face, Vegimon had enough time to think only one thing.

What's a Mosh Pit?

**XxXXxX**

The other Chosen came to the surface a minute later, behind the Dark Tower as planned. Digmon broke through first, carrying Iori in on pair of arms. Takeru and Miyako rode their partners out immediately afterwards, while Hikari and Tailmon came up behind them for no reason other than the fact that Tailmon had shorter legs and couldn't carry Hikari.

Yamato stayed behind with Gabumon, something he was not happy about but couldn't help.

They erupted onto the surface, sprinting for the Dark Tower, unsure of what they would find above ground. Pegasmon and Holsmon quickly outpaced Digmon, taking to the air.

And then, all at once, they froze.

Every last one of them stilled completely at what they saw.

Fladramon grabbed the Vegimon's blunt, fingerless limb as it was swung at him. In one smooth, unhesitating movement, he twisted his arm under Vegimon's long, string-like arm and then back over on the other side and under again, wrapping it tight around his arm. In less than a second, Vegimon's arm was stretched taunt and Fladramon heaved back his arm, lifting the smaller Digimon from the ground and sending him sailing through the air.

Straight towards Fladramon himself.

Vegimon didn't even have time to widen its eyes in fear or realization before Fladramon slammed his hand into his face.

Vegimon sailed back through the air until he reached the end of his rope and was pulled back by the Armor Digimon for another blow.

Fladramon hummed in satisfaction after the second blow, nodded to himself as he confirmed something.

And then he turned his attention to the three Vegimon that had been approaching him. They stood, stunned by what he'd just done.

With narrowed eyes, Daisuke's partner took the initiative. Another blow to his unwilling assistant sent the yellow Digimon plowing into one of his companions before pulling him back for more. Two more blows knocked down the others as well.

Lifting his wrapped arm in the air, Fladramon began to rotate it in small circles, swinging the Vegimon around like a lasso. The circle's size quickly increased as the movement began to untie the Digimon from his arm until only his clinched fingers kept the enslaved Digimon from flying away.

Fladramon quickly used his increased reach to sweep the recovering Vegimon off of their feet before swinging his captive in a wide circle with his body as the center and tossing him into the downed group.

"Knuckle Fire!"

The blasts of fire connected with the Evil Rings with pinpoint accuracy, deleting them.

Guilmon caught the flung limbs of a pair of Vegimon, who had learnt to stay as far away from the red Digimon as possible in an attempt to avoid danger.

It didn't work, because they _hadn't_ learnt to avoid attacking him.

A 'hand' in each of his, he jumped back, stretching the limbs taunt as Fladamon had, and pulled hard, dragging the Vegimon forward in the process.

Guilmon released their hands, allowing their momentum to carry them the rest of the way, before slamming a hand into each of their guts.

They crashed back to the earth a moment before Guilmon landed, their Evil Rings shattered.

Guilmon hit the ground running, dashing towards another enemy. The Vegimon tried to raise his arms in defense.

Guilmon grabbed both of them, stuck his head over them, and attacked.

"Fireball!"

The blast destroyed the Dark Ring and blew the Vegimon away. It stopped only when it reached the length of its arms, at which point Guilmon dropped him, turning to another Vegimon.

"Rock Breaker!"

The Ring broke and the Vegimon was thrown across the top of the mountain.

"W-w-what is this!" A new voice broke in.

Fladramon and Guilmon turned as one, barring their teeth.

RedVegimon had arrived on the scene.

Guilmon rushed towards him in a blur while Fladramon leapt into the air.

"Neck Stretcher!" Guilmon cried, upper-cutting the smaller Digimon with a flaming punch and launching him into the air.

And there, reaching the apex of his jump, Fladramon was waiting.

"Claw Express!"

The punch hit the enslaved Digimon like a train, sending him back to earth, breaking the Ring in the process.

Guilmon approached, sniffing the newly freed Digimon before wrinkling his nose and turning away. Fladramon landed beside him a moment later.

Neither of them said anything, but they didn't have to. They wordlessly bumped their claws together.

**XxXXxX**

Ken, still dressed as the Kaiser, looked upon one of his screens with vague interest.

Moments ago, one of his Towers had been destroyed, but he had no more interest for it then he'd have for a rerun of a TV show.

He'd expected it after all. When he'd allowed one of the Chosen's partners to escape with nothing more than a severe beating, it seemed obvious that he would return with the cavalry. He'd thought about killing the Digimon, but decided a test was more valuable, as it would allow for him to gather information.

Besides, with the Dark Towers, Gabumon was no threat.

"One hour, seventeen minutes." Wormmon reported dutifully. "They can destroy a Dark Tower with average guards thirty-two minutes faster then we could build it."

Ken frowned, but said nothing.

Wormmon took that as a sign to continue and did so.

"Of course, there were only average guards and it was to be expected for them to do so. Their victory wasn't surprising. However, it did raise several issues."

The Kaiser leaned back in his chair before speaking.

"Their partners." He stated. "With both Holsmon and Pegasmon, we no longer hold complete aerial superiority. More worryingly, they will dominate any attempts subterranean combat with Digmon. Both pose threats as they can potentially bypass our defenses, especially Digmon. Tailmon is not a major issue…well, no more so then any powerful Adult Digimon. She is both fast and strong, but she provides relatively little tactical advantage as she is restricting to the ground. The same could be said of both Guilmon and V-mon, but…"

Ken fell silent for a moment to ponder over his next words

"Those two have an enormous amount of raw power, even if they are unable to fly or dig past our guards. They have enough strength that they can simply roll over any opposition. In a one on one fight, I doubt we have any Digimon that can match them and they seem quite capable of working together. Well…maybe Stingmon?"

Wormmon made a noise of agreement.

"If you wish it, Ken, I will fight. I couldn't defeat both at once, however. Even just one would be a challenge."

His partner nodded, not really paying attention.

"To defend our Towers properly, we'd need to position troops at every Tower that could simultaneously defend against attacks from above-, below-, and on the ground. Not only that, but we'd need enough guards to defend against both Fladramon and Guilmon." Ken said.

He frowned and shook his head.

"That's not feasible. There's no way we could mobilize that many troops on each Tower. While we might be able to send enough Aerial troops to defeat their two fliers, we don't have enough fliers of our own to go around. Even then, I'd have to send dozens of ground troops as well if I wanted to deal with Fladramon, Guilmon and Tailmon. If I could draw all of them to specific areas then I could set things up in advance, but…I don't have any reliable way of making them walk into traps and I can't control where they appear in the Digital World. I might be able to draw them out with hostages again…but would they really walk into an obvious trap? No, that's not the issue…even if they walked into a trap, what would stop Digmon from getting them out? We have literally no one who can keep them from escaping beneath ground."

"We need to deal with Digmon, but that doesn't necessarily mean we need to go underground, Ken. What about a place he can't dig into? Or something that keeps Digimon from getting involved at all? And while we can't fight him while he's underground, the reverse is also true."

Ken pondered that for a minute before a smile grew across his face.

"You know, Wormmon? That gives me an idea."

**XxXXxX**


	8. Chapter 8: Counterattack

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Eight: Counterattack**

"Ken-chan, here." Wormmon said, carrying a fur coat to his partner as best he could.

Ken felt a flash of irritation but suppressed it. He picked up the coat silently, brushed the snow off of it, and shrugged it on as he overviewed the work being done.

"They're all so slow." He said through gritted teeth. "Why does it take so much time to build these…?"

Wormmon picked up on the source of Ken's irritation quickly enough.

"The Dark Towers?"

Ken continued without acknowledging that Wormmon had said anything.

"The Chosen are destroying them faster than I can create them. No matter how fast I have the slaves work, it's never fast enough. The Chosen have destroyed several Dark Towers in the last day alone and more are falling even now." The Kaiser said. "But how…? Their schedules match mine, I'm sure of it. I specifically wait until after they exit the Digital World before doing so myself. But even after they left, the Towers continued to fall."

"It's the older Chosen, Ken-chan." Wormmon said, drawing Ken's attention. "They may not be able to evolve while around Dark Towers, but they're really famous in the Digital World, remember?"

Remember? Ken wondered. Remember what?

For a moment, his thoughts drifted to a brown-haired young man and a V-mon.

Daisuke?

He shook his head.

No, that wasn't Daisuke, that was-

Ken clutched his head as a sudden flash of pain took him.

"Ken-chan? Ken-chan!" Wormmon cried worriedly.

"I'm fine!" He hissed out. After a moment, the pain faded and he took a deep breath and straightened. "I'm fine. What were you saying?"

Wormmon looked at him with concerned eyes, but continued.

"The partners of the older Chosen may not be able to evolve, but they are certainly popular enough. Now that they know to attack the Dark Towers, it shouldn't be a problem for them to rally up some support."

"I see. Yes, that makes sense." He replied, working his jaw. "In that case, they might be more dangerous then I'd thought."

He turned his head to look at Wormmon.

"Is the trap for Digmon ready yet?"

Wormmon nodded.

"I'll go start everything up." The Digimon said.

He turned to leave but hesitated the last moment. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, but…

He debated with himself for a moment and friendship and loyalty warred in his mind.

But in the end, his loyalty to his partner won, as it always did.

"Ken-chan…"

The human didn't say anything, but he shifted his head to show that he was listening.

"One of the older Chosen's partners is in the trap area. A Gomamon." He continued. "…What should I do with him?"

"Oh…" The Kaiser voiced at this pleasant surprise. "Interesting. Make him the bait instead."

Wormmon nodded but had to ask.

"But…isn't he dangerous? Is letting him go…wise?"

"The Older Chosen are dangerous, but not in the same way the new ones are. They pose a threat in that they could start an organized rebellion amongst the Digimon that do not have Rings. In that case, all I have to do to deal with them is be more thorough with capturing Digimon. They remain weak, Child level Digimon; I can crush them if need be. The younger Chosen pose a more immediate threat, none more so than Digmon. I'll let…Gomamon go just this once. We'll deal with him next time."

Ken chuckled.

"Well, that is if the older Chosen don't take their partners and run after what we do to him this time."

Wormmon nodded and continued walking.

**XxXXxX**

Jyou suddenly halted. It had been hard to keep himself from attracting suspicion, especially since he'd been spending nearly all his time looking after Sora. Nobody saw him before or after school. Nobody saw him _at all_ on Sundays.

He took his job seriously and while he didn't regret that, it certainly made things complicated.

So when his Digivice started beeping, he had to keep himself from wincing.

It was just one thing after another…

But it didn't matter. A choice between his friends and school was no choice at all.

"I heard we're going to have an exam today." One of his classmates said.

"I'm skipping class today." Jyou replied flatly.

**XxXXxX**

Iori entered the computer room silently after Hikari and Daisuke. Nobody noticed that he was being quieter then usual, or if they did, they weren't saying anything about it.

He was supposed to have Kendo practice today. Once a week, he trained at the police dojo with his grandfather.

But today, he wasn't going.

He felt bad about it, but he couldn't honestly say that he _regretted_ it. He was upset that he wouldn't be able to explain why to his grandfather and even more upset that he would have to let him down, but…

He had more important things to do.

As he firmed his resolve, he noticed something. Takeru and Miyako had gathered by their usual Computer and they seemed upset.

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked, noticing as well.

"We've received another SOS, like the one from Gabumon." Takeru replied. "It's probably from one of our friends."

Daisuke frowned and spoke up next.

"Do you think Takato's right? Is he really targeting the partners of the others?" He asked.

"Well, we don't know that it's one of their partners, yet. But…it seems likely, yes." Miyako said. "And that's not all. Check this out."

With a few quick movements, Miyako brought up a screen none of them had seen before. It was a map composed of black, white, and grey squares.

"Izumi found this when he was looking at my Digivice." She explained.

Takeru squinted at the screen.

"Is that…the Digital World?"

"As near as we can tell." She replied. "And you see these white squares? They used to be black until we destroyed the Dark Towers in those areas."

The Chosen looked at the screen anew in light of that information.

"Then these black squares signify Dark Towers?" Iori asked.

Miyako nodded at him.

"I'm pretty sure they do. If not the Towers, then I have no idea what they are. And that black square that keeps flashing red? It used to be white."

"The Kaiser built a new Tower." Daisuke said, realizing where she was going.

Takeru frowned at that.

"But look here." He said, pointing at the screen. "All the squares around it are Black except for those three grey ones right there. What do the grey squares indicate? Water?"

Miyako nodded again.

"Then…the Kaiser has complete control over this entire land mass. From top to bottom, there's nothing but black and grey squares over there. We haven't gone to any regions near that area, either."

Hikari bit her lip.

"Then…a trap?"

"If he knows about the others and their partners, then it's hard to see it as being anything else. We'd be away from any resources or back up while the Kaiser would have most of a continent to draw upon."

"But we don't have to go through the entire continent." Iori pointed out. "We can use the portal to get to the area in question and then Digmon can get us to the Tower. That okay with you, Armadimon?"

"No problem." His partner said.

Suddenly, everyone froze.

Footsteps. They could hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Everyone…!" Daisuke said, grabbing Chibimon and shoving him under one of the computer desks.

The others quickly followed his lead, though Tailmon leapt to hide without her partner's assistance.

It all proved pointless when the door opened.

"Jyou?" Takeru said, blinking.

"Ah…hey." The Older Chosen said, panting.

He glanced under the table and nodded at Tailmon and Patamon when they poked their heads out.

"Ah!" Hikari exclaimed, realizing the others probably hadn't met him. "Everyone, this is Kido Jyou."

"The one who's looking after Sora-san?" Miyako wondered.

Jyou's expression became serious at the name of his charge. He nodded again, though.

"And you must be Motomiya-kun, Inoue-chan, and Hida-kun."

"We just received an SOS from the Digital World." Takeru explained. "We're about to check it out, but we don't know where Gomamon is, so it would be dangerous for you to come along."

"Actually…" Jyou began. "That's what brings me here. It's _from_ Gomamon."

Takeru blinked, not expecting that. But then a thought struck him.

"Then…did your Digivice react, too, Jyou-san?"

"My Digivice reacted, but…what do you mean 'too'?"

"When Gabumon was attacked, my brother's Digivice reacted as well. He was really badly hurt." Takeru explained. "If yours reacted, too…Gomamon might be hurt, as well."

Jyou nodded seriously.

"I thought that might be the case." He said. "That's why I brought this with me."

He lifted his first-aid kit.

"I was worried about Gomamon, but even if I got to him, I figured the Kaiser would be behind this. In that case, I wouldn't be able to evolve him, so I rushed over here as fast as I could. I'm glad I made it before you left."

**XxXXxX**

"Sup, guys." Takato said, waving casually.

"Takato!" Daisuke greeted, before suddenly pausing. "Holy-"

"It's cold." Iori finished for Daisuke as the chill struck him to the bone.

"What's up with this place?" Daisuke complained, shivering.

He suddenly noticed that Takato, Hikari, Takeru, and Jyou seemed fine, despite the freezing weather.

"Hey…are you guys okay?" Daisuke asked, noticing that Takato wasn't even wearing his usual jacket.

"Ara?" Takato wondered, blinking. After a moment he smiled and nodded. "I'm fine, Daisuke."

He didn't even feel the cold. He hadn't even considered that Daisuke and the other Chosen would.

But then, they were part of the game, weren't they?

Hm…but would they notice that he wasn't bother by the 'cold?'

He decided it would be best to change the topic, just in case.

"More importantly, are you guys here for Gomamon?" He asked.

His words attracted Jyou's attention, as the older boy finished passing out heating pads.

"You know where Gomamon is! Is he okay!" He demanded. He still passed Takato a heating pad, though.

The Tamer took it, but noticed that he didn't feel it any more then he had the cold.

He nodded at Jyou's question.

"Guilmon and I received an SOS." Takato lied as Lucemon had instructed him to. "We came here and found the source by the portal. Gomamon was buried under some snow right in front of it, but Guilmon dug him out. As for being okay…well…he's alive, at least."

That didn't sound good, Daisuke thought.

"W-what do you mean?" Jyou asked.

"Gomamon was alive when we found him." Takato explained. "He was badly beaten and half frozen, but he was alive. I'm not a doctor, though, so all I can tell you is that it wasn't pretty. I covered him with my jacket and Guilmon fetched some wood for a fire, so he has warmth at least. I'm just keeping a look out while Guilmon hunts down some food for him."

He frowned then.

"Does Gomamon eat fish?" He wondered, not remembering from the TV show. It's not like Guilmon ate food, unless the disassembled bodies of his enemies counted.

Jyou ignored his questions entirely.

"Take me to him, please."

**XxXXxX**

"Gomamon! Gomamon!" Jyou cried, kneeling beside his partner and trying to wake him up.

It was harder then it sounded, since his partner was half dead. When he removed Takato's jacket, he honestly flinched at the wounds. He'd worried for a moment whether Gomamon was even alive, but…

He hadn't broken into data, so he couldn't be dead.

Yet, a treacherous part of his mind reminded him.

Even though he was currently alive, waking someone so close to death was no simple task, especially when trying not to hurt them.

Which, in this case, meant not touching him at all, he was so badly injured.

But after a minute, his partner responded.

"Jyou…"

Gomamon tried to lift himself up and failed miserably.

"Don't move, you're badly hurt." Jyou said, scrambling for his first aid kit and opening it. He sorted through its contents with a speed that came only with practice.

"You came…"

"Of course I came. What are you even doing in this place? Last time we saw each other, you were on a different continent!"

"Whamon brought me here. They said there were a lot of people running from the Kaiser, but by the time I got here…" Gomamon trailed off weakly. It seemed talking hurt. It wouldn't have been surprising if breathing hurt, he was so wounded. "Tentomon said…I could contact you with the TV."

Jyou nodded.

"I…we got your signal. More importantly, what happened to you? You're hurt so badly…"

"That guy…the Digimon Kaiser!"

"There's another Tower here." Daisuke whispered to Takato.

"I noticed." He replied in the same way before lifting his voice. "Jyou, can I talk to Gomamon?"

Gomamon looked at him.

"You're…the one who saved me…?"

Takato nodded, stepping forward.

"Gomamon, what happened? Did you attack them first? Were you a part of a group that was attacked? Or were you their only target?"

Gomamon seemed to understand.

"They attacked me specifically." He said.

"So he does know…" Takato said, frowning.

"Takato, where's the Dark Tower?" Takeru asked.

Takato lifted a finger.

"That way. But there's an entire field of snow between where we are and there."

**XxXXxX**

The Kaiser silently lifted his Digivice as it started making noise.

"They're here." He said.

He turned to Wormmon with a swirl of his cloak.

"Get everything ready! I want to know the moment they come into sight!"

**XxXXxX**

Daisuke whistled as he looked over the field.

"Getting across this is going to be tough…" He said. "Can Digmon get us there?"

He turned to Iori as he asked.

The youngest chosen shook his head.

"This entire area is nothing but ice, snow, and frozen earth." Iori said. "Best case scenario, we manage to stay completely within the frozen earth, in which case going will be slow and we'll be freezing the entire way. On the other hand, if we aren't lucky, Digmon drills into the water, his tunnels get flooded and we either freeze to death or drown."

Daisuke winced.

"Okay, no drilling. Can Holsmon and Pegasmon fly us?"

"We can get eight of us there." Takeru said. "Including Miyako and I, as well as our partners. But that will leave six here."

Takato lifted a hand.

"In that case, I'll stay here. Guilmon is the heaviest Digimon here, so he and I would be the largest burden. Gomamon's in no shape to go anywhere, anyway, so we'll keep watch over him."

Jyou glanced at him and nodded.

"Without Gomamon, I wouldn't be of much use, even if we could evolve. I'll stay behind as well."

Daisuke, Iori, and Hikari looked at each other.

Iori stepped back after a moment of thought.

"Without knowing anything about the area around the Kaiser's Tower, I can't say whether or not I'd be of much use. If its ice, then it could be dangerous for everyone involved; Digmon's drills could crack it and send us all into the water." He said. "I'll stay behind as well."

"Got it." Daisuke said. "Good luck guys."

"You, too."

**XxXXxX**

"Are they within sight, yet?" Ken asked.

Wormmon nodded.

"They've just come into view." He said. "They're flying on the back of Pegasmon and Holsmon."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"I could fly up there and harass them. I'm probably not fast enough to get there before they can react, but I can force them to land and drop off their passengers. They can't fight me while carrying them, much less outmaneuver me."

Ken mulled that thought over. It wasn't a part of the original plan, but it was tempting. If he forced them to the ground, they'd have to walk across the snow to get to the Tower. Going would be slow and they'd have to deal with all of his guards as well.

But…

He felt like there was something he was missing…

Ken narrowed his eyes in thought.

"You said Holsmon and Pegasmon were carrying them?" He asked.

Wormmon nodded silently.

"Are those two large enough to carry all of the Chosen?" He wondered aloud.

He turned to one of the Yukidarumon.

"You! Can you see the Chosen flying towards us?"

The snowman-like Digimon nodded silently.

"Report what you see!"

"Four humans, four Digimon. The two largest Digimon are each carrying three passengers; two humans and another Digimon, each." Yukidarumon reported dutifully.

"Is there a boy, smaller then all of the other humans among the passengers? Or a yellow, armadillo-like Digimon?"

Yukidarumon shook his head.

"Two boys and two girls of approximately the same height, as well as a Tailmon and a small blue Digimon I do not recognized."

Ken cursed.

"They've avoided the trap." Wormmon said.

The Kaiser suddenly calmed down.

"Avoided it? Don't be silly, Wormmon. This entire area is a trap. He hasn't walked into the obvious trap, but he fell into one the moment he came here." The Kaiser said dismissively. "Tell the slaves there has been a change of plans."

He lifted his Digivice.

"I'll need Stingmon for this one, as well."

**XxXXxX**

Takato rested against the side of the cave as the fire burnt in the center. He could feel it no more than he could the cold.

Logic told him that is was for the best; let the chosen do the dirty work while he rested and relaxed.

Even so, it was boring. Here he was, sitting in a cave with two NPCs and three Digimon while the Chosen were out raiding the fortress of the Digimon Kaiser.

He suppressed a sigh.

He was surprised when Jyou picked up on that.

"I know it's hard, staying behind while the others are risking their lives." The oldest of the Chosen said, sitting down beside him. "But you made the right choice. You're right; it would have been harder for them to carry you and Guilmon then any of the others."

Takato mentally noted that Jyou was more observant then he let on before replying.

"I know, it's just…staying behind in this cave…"

"Feeling restless?" Jyou asked.

Takato mulled that over for a bit, wondering if that was the right word, before nodding.

"A bit. Apparently, this entire continent is under the Kaisers control and we're in the center of it. So many Digimon enslaved…so many areas captured…Can we win like this?" He said, honestly wondering.

He was aware this was the most difficult setting, but…it was almost literally him against the world!

Takato glanced at the other human in the cave.

"Oi, Iori. You okay?" He asked. He understood why he was bothered, but why was an NPC looking so depressed.

The youngest chosen shivered due to the cold, even as he shook his head.

"I skipped my lesson with my grandfather today, because I think this is more important. I don't regret that choice, but I feel bad. My grandfather's probably disappointed in me…"

"Sitting in a cave not what you were expecting to do when you skipped out on meeting someone important to you?" Takato said, absently surprised as he remembered that being an NPC didn't exclude having a background story.

Iori nodded silently as his trembling increased.

"Hey, Gomamon." Takato said, noticing that. "I don't want to be a bother, but…can I have my jacket back."

Gomamon noticed what Takato was looking at and nodded.

"Sure thing." He murmured.

Takato took the jacket and draped it over Iori.

Takato just smiled at him when he looked up, startled.

"Don't worry about it, Iori. If needed, one of us can explain things to your grandfather." He said reasonably. "And while we're sitting this one out, there's an entire continent to free. Tell you what; when we're done here, you can pick a Tower on this continent and we'll go tear it down."

Guilmon started growling.

"And in the meantime," Takato continued brightly. "It seems there's someone coming who doesn't know any better. Let's go see who it is."

**XxXXxX**

"Yup." Takato said, looking upwards as Stingmon began to descend, the Kaiser in his arms. "Most definitely someone who doesn't know any better."

He lifted his voice.

"You want to explain why you're here or should we just blast you out of the sky?"

Ken looked down at them, more annoyed than anything else. He probably should have known that Digmon's partner wouldn't be left alone, so he should have expected that Takato would be here. He didn't know who the older kid was, though he also didn't care.

"Well, I was just in the area," He began.

Takato gestured to Guilmon.

"Actually, I honestly don't care why you're here." The Tamer said.

"Fireball!"

Stingmon moved out of the way easily and Ken continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"And I noticed you were here so I decided I'd go crush you." He finished. "I hope you didn't think you could get away from me by letting your friends do all the work."

Takato glanced in the direction of the Tower, noticing that it was still up.

"Jyou-san." He said. "Please stay back, for now. Iori, do you think this place is safe enough for Digmon?"

Iori looked around before shaking his head.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Guilmon."

"No problem." Guilmon replied.

The Kaiser chuckled and snapped his fingers.

The ground shook as Shellmon rose from the water nearby and lumbered onto land.

Takato tilted his head to the side.

"Okay. Slight problem."

**XxXXxX**

They didn't even bother to land. Daisuke pulled out his Digivice and V-mon jumped off Holsmon's back.

Fladramon hit the ground.

A group of Yukidarumon stood in his path and he was forced to dodge a moment after landing as blasts of supercooled air flew towards him. He leapt into the air, pulling back one arm.

Anyone would have thought he was in trouble, outnumbered as he was. And, indeed, normally he would be.

In fact, if these Yukidarumon were attacking him of their own free will, he'd probably start fearing for his life right about now.

But that wasn't the case and he wasn't worried.

They had a major weakness that was easy to exploit.

The Rings.

The Rings gave the Kaiser control of captured Digimon.

However, at the same time, it's true that, without the rings, the Kaiser has no control. That was the logic behind destroying the Dark Towers, after all.

And it applied to the Rings just as well.

While he'd be in danger if he was actually fighting a group of Adult Digimon, if he can destroy the Rings, he can basically take them out of the fight. And while Adult Digimon are dangerous, a Digimon that can be taken out in one or two blows isn't a real threat.

That in mind, Fladramon attacked.

"Knuckle Fire!" He cried, letting blasts of flame loose as he struck the air with one hand.

The Rings that bound the Yukidarumon to the Kaiser's will were all located in the same place; on the right leg, near where the ankle would be on a human. However, it was hard to attack the ankle of such a large creature from in the air; their huge girth all but hid it from sight.

So Fladramon hit them in the chest instead, three balls of fire knocking over three different Digimon.

He probably wouldn't be able to attack those specific Digimon again before they got up; their fellows would continue to attack him and keep his distracted. This was the Kaiser's way around the problem of the Rings; gang up on an opponent and keep him too busy to focus on any specific target.

Fladramon couldn't afford to take his attention off of the other Yukidarumon.

So he didn't bother.

Because he didn't need too.

Tailmon had landed on the ground just seconds after he had and she'd immediately started racing across the snow. Her white fur and great speed rendered her all but invisible.

The Yukidarumon didn't even see her.

Truthfully, Fladramon didn't see her either.

But she said she'd follow after him and he trusted her.

In the space of three seconds, before any of the enslaved Digimon could recover, three rings broke, shattering to pieces.

Fladramon didn't have to worry about being ganged up on.

His friends had his back.

He landed nimbly on the ground and noticed a fourth Yukidarumon fall. Tailmon again, he was sure; the catlike Digimon's size put her in a unique position for things like this.

Their rings were on their ankles; she was ankle high. Fladramon reminded himself not to say that out loud.

He went the opposite direction from the newly freed Digimon; he trusted Tailmon to cover that side, and she had support from above if she needed it.

So did he.

He ran towards one of the few remaining Yukidarumon, not worrying at all when the snowman-like creature tried to attack. Two beams of red light hit his opponent, interrupting him.

Fladramon didn't have to look up to know that Holsmon was guarding him as Pegasmon guarded Tailmon.

"Fire Rocket!"

This fight was over in every way that mattered.

**XxXXxX**

Takato was in a bit of a bind, he had to admit.

Two Adults against the Child Guilmon? Tricky.

Granted, he could always just evolve his partner into Growmon and destroy the Kaiser here and now, but…

Actually, why shouldn't he do that?

He entertained that thought, but he already knew why.

He couldn't guarantee that Growmon would be able to kill the Kaiser. In any straight fight, the Kaiser would probably die very quickly; he was confident that Growmon wouldn't lose to any Adult Digimon in a one-on-one fight.

But one of his lies would work against him on this.

He'd told everyone that Guilmon was an Adult, in order to pass off his large size and great strength. But if everyone thought he was an Adult and then they saw him evolve, it was obvious that they would think Growmon was a Perfect level.

Takato was confident that if the Kaiser thought he had broken out a Perfect, he'd probably make himself scarce.

Granted, Growmon would really just be a monstrously powerful Adult, but it would still be the right choice.

And, credit where credit was due, Stingmon was fast. Way faster than Growmon. And not only was he fast, he could fly, too. Which was an even greater advantage than usual, given the terrain. He could just fly over the water and Growmon wouldn't be able to follow.

Well, Growmon's strongest attacks were ranged, but…

No, he couldn't say he was confident he could take out a moving target that was as fast as Stingmon from range, especially if said target was actively trying to avoid his attacks and knew where he was.

No, he could be certain he could take down the Kaiser with Growmon. He could even say it was probable that he would succeed. And if he couldn't be sure of defeating the Kaiser, he couldn't remove the Chosen quite yet. Growmon was risky until he knew for certain what, if anything, Sora saw.

So, if possible, he'd like to keep him a secret for a little while longer.

But he'd pull him out in an instant if it was a choice between that and losing!

And that was the issue, wasn't it?

_Was _he losing?

Takato honestly wasn't sure; at the moment, it was hard to call.

Shellmon by himself wasn't really a problem; a large target that had to drag around a huge shell and pull himself along with his own arms? He was slow as hell; Guilmon could have chewed him up and spit him out in a one on one fight.

However, this wasn't a one on one fight. Whenever Guilmon tried to focus on Shellmon, Stingmon would interfere. Thankfully, even when the taller Digimon scored a blow, Guilmon's scales protected him from most of it. However, whenever he tried to attack Stingmon, Shellmon would attack.

And since Stingmon was almost always at range, Guilmon had to use his own ranged attacks. Problem was, while hitting a quickly moving target at long range was hard, hitting one while you're also in motion is even harder. Some of Guilmon's attacks had gone embarrassingly wide.

Still, neither of the attacks had seriously affected Guilmon; it wouldn't be too hard to turn things around.

He just had to remove one of his opponents. It was too complicated to fight an opponent at range while also fighting another in melee.

Shellmon would be easier to take out. He just had to destroy that Ring…

Of course, the Kaiser also knew that, which was probably why he was having Stingmon cover his slave so fiercely.

Takato suddenly realized what was going on.

He _was_ losing.

This battle, this entire thing was a farce.

It was a war of attrition.

Sure, Stingmon and Shellmon couldn't do much damage, but that wasn't the point. The point was that they were doing more damage to Guilmon then he was to them.

They were trying to wear him down.

And it was working. Not quickly, but all those little blows Stingmon had scored would show their effects eventually.

That was why this battle was a war of attrition.

But it was also a farce.

Stingmon wouldn't succeed in time; Takato knew that. The Kaiser probably knew it too.

But that wasn't the idea.

The idea was to find a tactic, any tactic, that worked on Guilmon. The Kaiser had obviously noticed Stingmon's inability to badly damage Guilmon, but it didn't matter how little damage Stingmon did if he was the _only_ one doing damage. If Stingmon hit Guilmon but Guilmon couldn't hit him back, he'd win eventually.

It could work. Not this time; Daisuke and the others would destroy the Tower in time. He'd have Jyou to back him up and it wouldn't be two on one anymore. The others would be coming back, too.

No, he couldn't succeed this time.

But there would be other chances. There would be times and places where he wouldn't have back up and times when the others couldn't come to the rescue.

And then, it would probably work.

Takato grit his teeth. He was losing, all right. Maybe not this battle, but he was definitely losing the war.

He suddenly relaxed.

Or, at least, the Kaiser thought he was. At any moment, he could make Guilmon evolve. He could pull out his Digivice and his cards. He could win any time he liked.

The Kaiser just didn't know it.

And that was fine. He didn't have to know. He could continue on in ignorance, waiting for his chance.

Takato could wait, too. He could play with his cards close to his chest. He could wait until the time was right.

He wasn't in any danger of losing the battle, today. And regardless of what the Kaiser thought, he wasn't in any danger of losing the war.

One of these days, someone was going to end up caught in a trap.

But it wasn't today.

And it wouldn't be him.

In the meantime…

In the distance, there was an explosion and Takato saw a Tower begin to fall.

"Hey, check it out, guys; the evolution's back on." He said over his shoulder.

"Gomamon, shinka!"

Moments later, Ikkakumon stood by his partner, and he knew this fight was all but over. No longer outnumbered, Guilmon could focus on a single target, removing the foundation of the Kaiser's plan.

Of course, Takato knew the Kaiser hadn't thought this would work and so his enemy didn't actually lose anything in this defeat. But he'd most likely back off, now.

Indeed, Stingmon was backing away now and-

And stopping? Why was he stopping?

Takato saw the Kaiser make a sweeping gesture with one of his arms. He thought his enemy might also have said something, but he couldn't hear anything from this distance.

Then Ebidramon leapt out of the water and he decided he could put together the basics.

Backup.

He should have expected that. Honestly, he should have. To the point that he was actually surprised that he _didn't_ expect it. The Kaiser controls the entire continent, after all, but he decides to show up with one Digimon as backup?

It made a part of Takato feel pretty smart for not breaking out Growmon; he would have just summoned Ebidramon and had him delay his partner while he made his getaway.

On the other hand, it made another part of him want to evolve Guilmon right now and shoot the Kaiser in his smug, prick face, even though he knew he probably couldn't pull it off.

He suppressed the urge and took control of the situation.

"Jyou, Ikkakumon can swim better than Guilmon; have him deal with Ebidramon. We'll deal with Shellmon."

It ended almost disappointingly fast.

Ikkakumon tackled Ebidramon with surprising speed, sending him into the water and leaving Shellmon and Guilmon alone on the ground.

For a moment, Takato wondered in the Kaiser would enter the battlefield, but he seemed content to hover outside of the battle.

Takato didn't have any real hope that the Chosen would make it back in time to get the drop on him or that they could actually pull it off without Stingmon noticing.

He entertained the amusing mental image anyway.

"Guilmon." He calmly commanded.

His partner snarled; he obviously hadn't enjoyed being double teamed earlier.

Luckily, he had Shellmon to take it out on.

"Hydro Pressure!" Shellmon cried, trying to shift the tide of battle in his favor.

If he could knock Guilmon off balance long enough for him to retreat into the water, they'd have the advantage. They could double team Ikkakumon and then deal with Guilmon. Or, if Guilmon was foolish enough to follow him into the depths, he'd have the complete advantage.

But it wasn't meant to be.

"Fire Breath!" Guilmon countered and fire met water.

Shellmon's attack was quickly reduced to steam, which expanded quickly due to the heat, covering both Digimon from sight. Takato quickly moved away, not wanting to be scalded, but he was rendered as blind to the fight as everyone else.

He suppressed the urge to pull out his Digivice and see through his partner's eyes.

Shellmon's pink flesh reddened slightly as a result of the steam while Guilmon was completely unaffected. The Red Child had the advantage in the mist and he knew it; he didn't rely on sight.

He quickly rushed Shellmon before the steam could fade, all but invisible until it was too late to matter.

He jumped, landed on Shellmon's shell, and rebounded off of it, hitting his opponent from behind. He wrapped his arms around Shellmon's neck and clapped down on the Ring there with his mighty jaws. It took but seconds for it to break under the pressure.

Beneath the surface, Ikkakumon rammed his Mythril horn into Ebidramon's stomach, using his great strength and size to push the slave to the surface. Just before reaching it, he snapped his neck back, flinging Ebidramon out of the water.

Ikkakumon quickly rose to the surface.

"Northern Lights!" He cried, exhaling a frigid wind just as Ebidramon was about to fall back into the water. The water froze into ice as he slammed into it, freezing around him. The shrimp-like Digimon tried to struggle free.

Ikkakumon had no intention of waiting for that to happen.

"Harpoon Vulcan!" He cried, launching his horn.

His horn broke apart, revealing a missile held within. The missile expertly homed in on Ebidramon's Ring and exploded hard enough to shatter the ice that held Ebidramon, freeing him twice.

By the time the steam and smoke cleared, two Digimon had been freed.

The Kaiser was nowhere in sight.

**XxXXxX**

"It might be a good idea to take Gomamon with you, Jyou." Takato said.

He didn't enjoy saying it, since it put an end to the possibility of just attacking the Chosen while they were in the Real World. But there was no helping it.

He had no way of justifying leaving the Chosen's partner anymore; they now had proof that the Kaiser was attacking their partner's specifically. At this point, all leaving them in the Digital World would do was give him more work.

"But what about this place?" Gomamon asked.

"We'll have to figure out some sort of system." Takato said. "The Kaiser enters the Digital World about the same time we do, so he can only personally command his slaves while we can fight back. We can set up patrols over areas that we've freed or something."

"If anything happens," Takeru said, catching on. "Then we can use the gate to all come and help out."

**XxXXxX**

The Kaiser tightened his hands around his armrests as he looked at a white square on his computer screen.

It should have been black.

It _had_ been black, just a little bit earlier.

Before they'd destroyed his Dark Tower.

He'd been fully prepared to sacrifice it, of course; he'd used it as bait after all.

But he'd been prepared to sacrifice it on one condition.

In return for Digmon.

He'd failed. Digmon and his partner were alive. No, more than that! Digmon and his partner didn't have a scratch on them! The entire plan had been a complete failure. He'd lost the area, he'd lost his slaves, and he completely failed to do anything meaningful to any of the Chosen.

Because of Takato.

If he hadn't been there, Digmon wouldn't have been able to fight and that older boy wouldn't have been able to evolve his partner until it was too late.

He would have won, even if the Tower fell.

"That boy…is quickly becoming a thorn in my side." He told Wormmon, who didn't need him to explain who he was talking about.

The Coliseum, the Towers, and now this!

He needed to do something about him, preferably soon rather than later.

"I think we're going about this wrong." He said. "It's time for a new strategy, Wormmon."

**XxXXxX**


	9. Chapter 9: Interrupted Plans

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Nine: Interrupted Plans**

Takato chuckled, waving off their concerns.

"Don't worry about it; enjoy your picnic." He said. "I can cover for you all for a day."

"Are you sure?" Miyako asked, concerned.

They were planning a picnic.

Takato guessed it sort of made sense that they wanted to relax for a bit; you know, what with the nigh-constants threats to their lives, having to overthrow the rule of an Evil Overlord against ridiculous odds, and avoiding suspicion.

Anybody would start getting stressed out after that.

So, no, it wasn't strange that they wanted to kick back for a bit.

It was kind of weird that they wanted to do it _while_ the Kaiser was still out there conquering areas, but Takato could understand their intentions.

Besides, it's not like it changed things if they took a day off.

They'd had no success in tracking down the Kaiser; whenever he appeared, it was always of his own will. As a result, they had no choice but to wander around aimlessly, destroying Towers as they came to them until the Kaiser decided to show up in person.

He couldn't protest the plan for the picnic, either. They'd spent most of a week cleaning up one of the smaller landmasses of the Digital World, leaving behind only three areas under the Kaiser's control. The plan was to destroy those three Towers in one day and then spend the next relaxing while consolidating the defenses of that area.

Since said consolidation didn't really require the Chosen's help unless something went wrong, it was fairly relaxing, but it also made sense for them to be there, just in case.

Takato had been invited to join the picnic, but had declined. While he understood why the Chosen wanted to relax and have fun, he was playing a videogame; he was already relaxing and having fun.

Of course, he hadn't told them _that_.

Instead, he'd given them an explanation of wanting to be prepared. If the Kaiser did something, it would be a good idea for someone to be on guard, he'd told them.

And if he saw a chance to destroy a few Towers along the way…

Though, in reality, perhaps he _did_ just want to unwind a bit and this was a perfect opportunity for it.

But his definition of 'unwind' deferred from that of the Chosen, he felt.

The Chosen Children were a great asset, giving him access to the power of five Adult Digimon. He'd gained their trust, and with it he could guide them in the direction of his choosing. He'd set them against the Kaiser just as he'd set the Kaiser against them.

And with them, he was slowly chipping away at the Kaiser's powerbase, bit by tiny bit.

But it had its downsides, too. Trust has to be earned, and so he'd had to earn it. Friends stand by each other, and so he'd had to stand by them. And in order for people to follow, someone must lead, and led he had. Perhaps not obviously, he'd given that role to Daisuke, but he'd shaped them into a weapon that attacked the Kaiser where and how he wanted them too.

But it was also a lot of work.

He had to keep his identity a secret. He had to keep his actions a secret. He had to keep his nature a secret. And he had to keep his partner a secret.

Yes, it made sense that the Chosen would want to relax; to shrug off all their troubles and enjoy themselves.

He, too, would try to enjoy himself while they were gone.

So he smiled at her and nodded.

"I'm positive." He said.

**XxXXxX**

Hikari finished packing her bag, which involved putting Tailmon in it, before lifting it up as gently as possible, not wanting to hurt her partner.

"I'm going now!" She yelled over her shoulder as opened to door of their apartment. I'll be home later!"

"Ah!" Taichi shouted from somewhere within the apartment. "Wait!"

She removed her hand from to doorknob after closing it, wondering what was going on. She heard scrambling; her brother trying to get to her before she left, she guessed.

Sure enough, Taichi appeared in the hallway moments later.

"Oh, good; I caught you." He said, sighing in relief.

"What's wrong, Oniichan?" She wondered.

"I need to ask you a favor." He said seriously. Could you spare room at your picnic for one more?"

Hikari blinked.

"Um, well, it's not really up to me…I'd have to as Miyako; she'd the one preparing everything…" She said slowly, thinking. "But I could always ask; it's kind of at the last minute, though. Who did you have in mind?"

"Mimi." He said, never one to beat around the bush. "It's been most of a week and she barely contacts us. She and Palmon help out when we ask them to and they do a good job, but…well, she's been cold and is keeping to herself a lot. Not that there's anything wrong with being quiet or cold, but…it's kind of weird to see that sort of thing on Mimi, you know?"

Hikari winced. She did know. See tried to picture Mimi as depressed and couldn't. Knowing that she actually was, she had to admit she _didn't_ want to see it.

And she felt bad for thinking that.

"So you think we should invite her along?" She asked.

"I think it might be a good idea if she could, you know, get out a little. Not just to do work, but to have fun."

Hikari nodded slowly, chewing her lip, before trying to address the issue.

"Do you really think the Pyocomon Village hit her that hard?" She had to ask, even though she knew it made her sound insensitive.

None of the others had shown such an extreme reaction, but…

Taichi pursed his lips before speaking.

"No." He said, to her surprise.

"No?"

"Mimi is stronger then she looks. I guess you wouldn't know her or the others quite as well, since you didn't join the party until after Vamdemon, but…she's tough." He said. "She's emotional, she doesn't like to fight, and she was always younger than us, not counting you and Takeru, but we were in the Digital World for months and she managed. The death of the village and Meramon hurt, no doubt; she wouldn't be Mimi otherwise. But the next day, she was on her feet, ready to fight."

"Then…?" Hikari wondered, not understanding.

"And then she found out that there was nothing she could about the situation. The Kaiser's Dark Towers rendered her pretty much powerless. Since then, all she's been able to do is come in after the Towers fall and help out. And that always involves seeing the pain and destruction that she couldn't do anything to stop." Taichi said, before pausing.

He wondered if he should tell her this, but…

She probably deserved to know.

"It's not just her, either." He said. "Yamato and Jyou have been a bit down, too. Their partners were beaten to near death and they were forced to crawl their way to one of the Televisions and cry for help. So Yamato and Jyou came running. And when they got there…they couldn't really do anything. Yamato had to stay back and watch you all fight his battles. Jyou…well, Gomamon evolved eventually, he said, but…he also told me he was only alive because Takato put himself in the line of fire and Guilmon went two-on-one to protect him."

"But…Oniichan…" Hikari tried to find the words.

Taichi laid a hand on her head.

"And they're grateful to you. I'm grateful to you. But…even so…it's hard to not feel like deadweight."

Hikari was silent for a minute before she had to ask.

Even though she knew the answer…

Even though she hated the answer…

"Even you, Oniichan?"

This time, it was Taichi's turn to fall silent.

"Maybe a little." He said, avoiding her eyes.

"…I'll talk to Miyako. I'm sure she'll say yes."

"…Then I'll talk to Mimi."

**XxXXxX**

Takato was a bit saddened by the fact that he couldn't spend his free time destroying a few areas and feeding them to Guilmon, but there was no helping it.

The simple fact of the matter was that if Growmon destroyed entire swaths of land, then it would definitely draw attention.

Especially now.

Takato and the Chosen had figured out pretty quickly that destroying Dark Towers, by itself, was not going to be enough to defeat the Kaiser.

The reason was simple; if they destroyed an area and the Kaiser took an area at the same time, they would have to destroy Towers a hell of a lot faster than they were currently able to.

While it was true that, with their speed, they could probably win a war of attrition, so long as nothing went wrong along the way, which they didn't believe for a second, it would take forever.

While they could destroy a Tower faster than the Kaiser could create them, the fact remained that they couldn't do so _that_ much faster. In addition, the Kaiser had a huge head start on them; there were entire continents completely under his control.

Yes, they might have been able to win a war of attrition.

But it would have involved them fighting a war of attrition. It would take, bare minimum, years to win.

No.

That had been the unanimous consensus.

No. Absolutely not. They were not going to let the Kaiser run loose that long if there was any other choice.

Granted, their reasons had been different.

The Chosen didn't want the Digital World to be burdened by the Kaiser that long, nor did they want the Digimon within it to have to live in constant fear of being enslaved.

Takato just didn't want the game to become that tedious.

But regardless of their reasons, their conclusions had been the same.

They had to keep the Kaiser from continuously capturing more areas.

The logic was simple; if they could destroy Towers everyday but the Kaiser couldn't put up new ones, they'd defeat him in a fraction of the time.

Of course, they couldn't stop him from taking areas entirely; if they had that much manpower, they'd just crush the Kaiser utterly and not worry about it.

But even just making him take longer to capture new areas would be enough. If it took him twice as long to put up a Tower, for example, it would more than halve the length of their fight against him.

To that end, they'd gone around the areas they'd freed and the ones that hadn't been captured to begin with, mobilizing the Digimon within them. It was strictly volunteer work, of course, but there were plenty of Digimon that were willing, especially in freed areas. Around the areas, patrols had been set up and fighting forces had been prepared, ready to fight the Kaiser. Messengers were also prepared, to call for help from the Chosen and nearby areas.

Takato approved at that; it helped him against the Kaiser.

However…

It also worked against him.

If he had Growmon attack them, it was likely that at least one messenger would escape and word would get out. While he wasn't worried about being known, the fact remained that he still needed the Chosen for the moment.

Therefore, he had limited his destructive tendencies to the Kaiser and his Towers.

That was fine though; the sooner the Kaiser was out of the way, the sooner he'd no longer need the Chosen.

Destroying the areas wasn't an issue, either. He may not have had Digmon's drills, but he didn't need them, either.

He had Growmon's range, after all. He could just destroy a Tower and skip the entire journey to it.

All he had to do was avoid attracting the Kaiser's direct attention; he didn't want him to notice the pattern and start setting guards at range. He was able to keep that from happening fairly easily, though; all he had to do was wait until the Kaiser put up a new Tower. When he did, one of the white squares on the map Lucemon had given him would turn black, revealing the Kaisers general location. Then, he just had to stay far away from it and avoid letting anyone see him.

Easy enough, considering his ability to use the Dark Area for quick transportation. He'd already destroyed five Towers along the outskirts of the Kaiser's control. The fallen Towers could be passed off as the freed Digimon chipping away at the Kaisers control.

**XxXXxX**

Landing on his feet, Daisuke scanned the surrounding area.

"Dark Towers…Do you see any, V-mon?" He asked.

"Not a single one!" V-mon said cheerfully.

"Damn straight!" He said, high-fiving his partner.

The other Chosen shared his enthusiasm. It hadn't been easy cleaning up an entire area of the Digital World, but they'd done it. They'd cleared the entire landmass of Dark Towers.

Even Mimi had to cheer up a little at that.

"A picnic in the Digital World…We would never have thought of it in our time." She admitted. "Time changes all things, hm?"

And how, she thought.

From being an alien world they'd been locked in to a daily, afterschool trip…

From evil Digimon to enemy humans…

From being the ones destined to save the Digital World to becoming useless…

She shook herself, dispelling those thoughts before they could get any more depressing.

"We only came here to destroy Dark Towers until now," Miyako confessed. "But it was becoming hard to see this place as anything but a battlefield…"

Mimi understood that perfectly. Years ago, this place…

It had been hard to decide if it was her own personal wonderland or a place out of her nightmares. It depended on who or what was trying to kill her at the time and what she and her friends had been going through.

It was hard to admit, now that she'd seen it when it was peaceful and now falling into chaos again, but…

More often than not, it had been the latter.

"It seems a shame to think that way about such a lovely place." Mimi said, smiling sadly.

Miyako made a noise of agreement, oblivious to the older girl's thoughts.

"Yeah, but since it was Golden Week, we thought we could have fun here for once."

Takeru, who was more observant then his fellow chosen, thanks to his past history with Mimi and his own experiences in the Digital World, smoothly changed the subject.

"Daisuke, let's have lunch." Takeru said.

Daisuke looked over his shoulder, meeting Takeru's eyes. The more experienced Chosen nodded subtly at Mimi.

"Good idea; I was beginning to get hungry." He lied, getting the hint.

**XxXXxX**

"Exhaust Flame!"

Growmon's attack rent the air for the ninth time, plowing into another Tower.

It was only the seventh tower today, but it was obvious the Kaiser had noticed something wrong.

Takato sighed to himself. As he'd expected, he'd been too hasty. He'd destroy a Tower and then immediately move on to the next area. From there, he'd move from where ever the gate was into a place that would give Growmon a clear shot. Growmon would destroy the Tower at once and then they would continue on to the next area.

But the Kaiser had obviously found it suspicious that so many Towers had fallen over the course of a few hours and had tried to counterattack.

Takato wasn't worried; not yet at least. The Kaiser had nothing to go on; at best he'd seen a burst of flame through his cameras before losing control of the area.

He didn't know who was doing this or where he was and until he did, Takato had nothing to worry about.

However, he was at least trying to deal with the problem; a few more enslaved Digimon had moved into the areas around those he'd freed. He'd already jumped through several areas that he considered too troublesome, preying on easier targets.

They weren't threats, but Takato was pretty sure that wasn't the reason he was here. As far as the Kaiser knew, he was a serious threat; if these reinforcements were supposed to deal with an important enemy, they were massively underwhelming.

But more than that, the way they acted was wrong.

There were airborne slaves and land bound slave, never more than three of each. The land bound slaves acted purely defensive, literally intercepting Growmon's Exhaust Flames before they could reach the Tower.

Takato had simply found better locations to attack from, but…

Those fliers…

They were obviously looking for something and it was just as obvious what it was.

Him.

Takato made a noise in the back of his throat, annoyed.

So it was a recon mission, huh?

Without knowing anything about his enemy, the Kaiser would have to be prepared for the possibility of his opponent being able to crush anyone he sent.

Nothing but expendable slaves, then.

Takato pondered the issue.

Currently, the Kaiser was just getting his scouts into position, which was why he hadn't had any real trouble. But as time went on and the Kaiser got more annoyed by the loss of Towers, more and more of his soldier would appear and cover the areas.

Taking into account the time it took Growmon himself to get into position…

It could quickly become troublesome.

Takato wasn't worried about Growmon; he hadn't seen anything his partner couldn't handle.

But that wasn't the point and he knew it.

The Kaiser wasn't trying to win; he was trying to gather information about his opponent in order to make a plan.

Takato, on the other hand, was playing keep away. He was using guerilla warfare and terrorist tactics; he didn't want the Kaiser to know anything. He wanted him to think some unknown enemy was after him; force him to be cautious and slow down his movements as well as take away the resources that were the Towers and Slaves.

Not to mention how much Growmon looked like Guilmon; it wouldn't take a genius to figure out a connection.

Destroying the Towers was important.

But he wanted to keep Growmon a secret for as long as possible, until he could trap the Kaiser in a situation he couldn't run from.

Takato looked to the sky at the freed Digimon that had been the Kaiser's eyes and ears moments before and shook his head.

"Let's fall back for today, Growmon. I've gotta think up another plan."

**XxXXxX**

"Miyako-chan! Hawkmon!" Mimi shouted, her Digivice in hand.

The pair had wandered off earlier and hadn't come back. She'd gotten worried and had volunteered to check it out.

Maybe she was over thinking things, since this area was free of the Kaiser's control, but…

She was well aware that this world had other dangers, as well.

More importantly, she'd been worried even before Miyako had disappeared. She'd intended to meet up with Palmon here. Her partner had decided to go ahead of her to make sure the area was safe and to help with the reconstruction and protection of the area, but…

She hadn't shown.

Three people had disappeared; definitely suspicious. The others had taken out their Digivices and confirmed that Miyako wasn't nearby, but had also not noticed any signs of the Kaiser; they'd decided to wait five minutes and if Miyako didn't show, they'd venture in together.

Mimi had volunteered to go in first, on the logic that Palmon's disappearance and Miyako's were probably connected. Her Digivice allowed her to follow her partner and gave her a general direction. The others were watching on their Digivices; if anything happened, they'd know when and where to look.

Also, if she fell into a trap, it probably wouldn't affect the others ability to rescue her. If they lost Tailmon and Fladramon, their ground combat would be weakened, but if they lost Digmon or Pegasmon, they'd lose their ability to act underground or in the air entirely.

Mimi sighed.

It was kind of depressing to think of herself as the weakest link.

Still, she was Palmon's partner, so she had to do at least this much.

It was still weird, though; her Digivice said that Palmon should be right in front of her.

Mimi was about to take another step, but thought better of it. She'd fallen into her fair share of traps; she knew where this was going.

She glanced up at the sky; there didn't seem to be anything that could fall on her, so…

Probably a trap underground?

She contemplated her options.

She could get the others, though that could take time and Miyako might be in danger. Then again, what could she do about it? Well, if Palmon was there, maybe…?

That led to option two; walk into the trap. The others would see her disappear and come running, accomplishing the same thing but without wasting time. But then, they could fall into the trap as well…

Mimi stepped away from the trap and searched the area. It was full of trees, so…

There.

She stepped carefully away from where she though the trap was and picked up a nearby branch. She used it to write a message in the dirt by the trap and an arrow too it.

_Probably a trap. I'm going ahead, just in case._

She then tossed the stick aside and stepped boldly forward.

There was a sudden sensation of falling before it all went black.

**XxXXxX**

Takeru looked up from his Digivice.

"Mimi's signal just vanished. Pegasmon and I are going to go check out where she disappeared; if it's a trap, we should be able to avoid it better than anyone else here."

Daisuke finished chewing his food and nodded.

"I'll be right behind you, but give me a minute to call in reinforcements."

Takeru lifted an eyebrow.

"Takato." Daisuke explained. "He said he'd be working today, in case something went wrong. It seems to me something's gone wrong."

Takeru couldn't argue with that.

"I'll call my brother and the others and tell them which area we're in." Hikari said. "If we disappear, that'll tell them where we last were. There are no Dark Tower's here, so it should be safe for them to evolve."

Daisuke nodded at her.

Iori stood.

"Then I guess I'll check the nearby areas and see if anything weird is going on. At the very least, maybe I can find out if anything suspicious has happened in this area before."

**XxXXxX**

Mimi awoke to find Miyako leaning over her.

The younger Chosen sighed with relief.

"You're okay! I thought something might have happened to you on…well, the way down, but you seem to be fine. But then, I guess since I wasn't hurt either…"

Mimi blinked, wondering for a moment what she was talking about.

She remembered so suddenly it made her start.

Palmon had disappeared and later, so had Miyako and Hawkmon.

Two quick glances confirmed that she'd found two out of three on that count.

Wait.

She'd followed them into the woods and found what she'd thought was a trap. Well, at this point, she knew it was a trap, but that wasn't the point. The point was that, after she stepped into the trap, she'd definitely found herself falling.

So if she'd fallen…and Miyako, Hawkmon, and, maybe, Palmon and fallen before her…

Why was there still a sky?

And why was it night?

How long had she been out?

For a moment she was worried, but then she remembered that she'd left a message for the others and that they knew where she'd disappeared. Then…

"Where are we?" She asked.

Miyako shrugged.

"A different area, but I don't know where." She said.

Mimi suppressed a sigh; she'd been on the surface, fallen underground, and ended up…back on the surface.

She was kind of past the point of expecting the Digital World's pathetic excuse for natural laws to make sense, having been to upside-down Pyramids and Vamdemon's castle, but still, it would be nice.

"How do you know we're in a different area?" She asked, though; they were still in the forest, she could tell that much. However, it was dark and she couldn't see anything that obviously distinguished this Forest from any other.

"Look at that." Miyako said grimly.

Mimi followed her eyes.

A Dark Tower stood a monument to its master's strength.

"This is the Digimon Kaiser's territory." She said.

Suddenly, Miyako stiffened, realizing something.

There were two main traits that characterized the Kaiser's rule. The Towers…

A rustling in the bushes drew their attention, though Miyako already knew what she would see.

…and the Slaves.

**XxXXxX**

Takato picked up his Digivice when it began to beep. He currently stood in the middle of the Kaiser's territory, meaning there literally wasn't a free area for miles and he was surrounded by enemies.

Understandably, he was a bit annoyed by the sudden loud noises.

"What is it?" He demanded.

"_You have two new messages."_ Lucemon's voice immediately said.

Takato closed his eyes.

Oh, Sweet Christ. He didn't particularly want to rely on Lucemon as an answering service, but he had no other way of receiving the Chosen's emails.

Even so, this was gonna suck.

"And?" He asked anyway, venturing bravely forth.

"_First of all, Daisuke has finally tired of all the sexual tension and is hitting you up for a booty call."_

Takato grimaced noticeably, but very deliberately didn't say anything aloud; it would accomplish nothing but give Lucemon amusement and the angel's amusement was bad for his moral.

Nonetheless, he didn't miss a beat.

"Oh, is that so?" He said instead, his tone bright in false joy and wonder. "Well, I've been expecting this for awhile now, but I admit I've been dreading it. I better call him back. I don't want to hurt his feelings, though; I'll try to let him down easy."

"_Oh?"_ Lucemon wondered, warily.

"Yeah. It'll just never work out, since I'm already pinning after your sexy young body, Lucemon." He forced himself to say.

Takato then proceeded to bask in Lucemon's silence, drowning his disgust in the euphoria of victory.

"_The second message is from Miyako and Mimi, asking to engage in a threesome."_ Lucemon said, realizing his silence was good for Takato's moral and promptly ending it.

"Lucemon, you just got _dumped_." Takato replied.

"_Oh, I'm sure I'll manage somehow."_

**XxXXxX**

Apparently, Miyako and Mimi had somehow been transported to a different area of the Digital World.

Sadly, knowledge pertaining to where that area was….well, it was limited to say the least.

Fortunately, Takato was good at thinking on his feet.

There were two details that could be useful, so Takato focused on them.

One, there was a Dark Tower in that area. That immediately excluded any area without a Dark Tower, narrowing down the possible areas somewhat.

Not as much as Takato would like, considering he'd been playing hard every day for over a week, but…

Regardless, from that information, he was able to exclude a number of areas. However, it wasn't narrowed down enough for him to actually guess which area they were currently in.

However, the second piece of information could potentially prove quite helpful.

Gekomon and Otamamon were in that area.

Those were two types of Digimon that Takato didn't consider common sights; point of fact, he'd only seen one Gekomon. He'd seen a few more Otamamon, but they were in a group being escorted by the Gekomon.

The ones he'd freed from the Coliseum. If Takato remembered correctly, and he was sure he did since he'd actually wasted time looking into it, they'd said their Area had been captured by the Kaiser and that they'd run.

After he'd freed them, they'd asked Takato to free their home, as well. Since one area was really the same as any other to him, he'd checked it out.

The damn place was loaded with Digimon. He'd seen entire crowds of Gekomon and Otamamon and a duo of flying Digimon and had considered it too bothersome to go in alone without breaking out Growmon and he'd just gotten into the Chosen's 'group' and didn't want to draw to much suspicion by, say, freeing areas alone and using enormous amounts of firepower but then never mentioning it again.

So, since keeping promises to random NPCs wasn't very important to him, he'd made a brief mental note to himself and decided that he'd mention it to the Chosen when he had a chance and make them do the work.

Then he'd had a really busy week of…playing videogames. Okay, maybe not that busy, but he was doing more important stuff in the game.

Well, it had officially become 'more important than sitting around in a forest,' so it was time to kick some ass.

Takato and Guilmon passed through the gate in a flash of bright light, alone. He wasn't arrogant, not at all.

He just didn't trust Lucemon enough to let him handle his messages.

Two Chosen were here already, though, and one could fly. He could manage. And when he found Miyako, he could always ask her to send out a message to the others.

He just had to find her.

Shouldn't be too hard.

"Guilmon, is there anyone around?" Takato asked.

Guilmon sniffed the air searchingly.

"I don't think so, Takato." He replied after a moment.

"Groovy." He said, taking out his Digivice.

A holographic screen immediately came up.

"Hm." Takato sounded at what he saw. "Let's see…That dot is Miyako….so that one next to her must be Mimi…and there's Hawkmon…so…that group behind her must be a bunch of baby seals."

He turned towards his partner.

"Come on, Guilmon; time to show me your best drunken sailor impression."

**XxXXxX**

The duo reached Mimi and Miyako mere moments after Palmon did, but the smaller rookie Digimon hesitated at the sight of the rampaging crowd behind them. She was well aware that in a one on over a hundred fight she would lose horribly, even if Otamamon and Gekomon were weak.

Guilmon wouldn't back down against anyone, however; his Tamer had told him to fight so he would fight.

"Fire Breath." He cried, exhaling a wave of flames.

However, instead of aiming it at the crowd, which he knew wouldn't accomplish much, he used it to draw a line of fire along the ground. The group backed away from the sudden explosion of heat and light out of instinctive fear, stumbling back even though the flames themselves couldn't have hurt them.

He'd fight.

But not stupidly.

His Tamer gave the crowd a once over, performing a quick head count.

He stopped when he realized he couldn't count them all, deciding discretion was probably the better part of valor.

"Takato?" Miyako said, blinking. "What are you-"

"Hey, Miyako, I heard you were in trouble and rushed right over." He replied, cutting her off. "No offense, but can we chat later? I'd really like to be in the air right now."

Miyako promptly remembered that she was being chased by overwhelming odds.

"Digimental Up!" She cried.

"Hawkmon, Armor shinka! Holsmon!"

Miyako quickly climbed aboard her partner as Takato helped Mimi up, placing her behind Miyako.

The Tamer paused then, realizing something at the same moment Holsmon did.

"There's not enough room." Miyako's partner said.

Three humans and two Digimon?

It wasn't gonna happen.

Takato glanced from Guilmon to Palmon before picking up the flower like Digimon and putting her behind her partner.

"H-hey!" Palmon said, startled. "What are you-"

Takato hushed her with a gesture.

"You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up." He said, confidently.

In reality, Palmon was the only option. Holsmon would never leave without Miyako. He couldn't justify leaving Mimi behind, since she was a human and her partner couldn't even evolve due to the Dark Tower. With two humans, there was only room enough for one more.

Takato himself couldn't leave; even Guilmon couldn't fight more than a hundred Digimon without any help, since there were both Child and Adult Digimon in that crowd. Even if Gekomon were weak for their level, there were so many of them. And he'd spent the whole day fighting, too.

He'd lose.

He might go down in a blaze of glory, but he'd lose.

And if Guilmon lost, he lost.

Guilmon couldn't leave either; Takato was just a human. An unarmed ten year old boy, at that. Guilmon couldn't beat that whole crowd, but _he_ probably couldn't beat anyone in it.

Takato and Guilmon would have to stick together.

They were partners, after all.

So it was Palmon by default, leaving them to fight these odds alone.

Takato wasn't worried, though; even against odds like these, Growmon…

Growmon wouldn't lose to anyone.

That was what Takato believed.

He could win this battle with the slash of a card.

Even so…

This was a defeat.

He'd tried so hard to keep it a secret, but…

He didn't want to lose. Keeping a secret in return for an advantage was one thing, but…

It wasn't worth losing over.

Takato glanced over his shoulder.

"Well? What are you still doing here?" He said, annoyed. "Get going. Call the others once you get to a safe place; we're three areas below that savanna like place from Tuesday. They can come clean up what's left."

Miyako stared at him silently for a long moment before nodding once. Holsmon took to the sky without a word.

Takato sighed.

"Finally. Just you and me, boy. Got energy left to go another round?"

Guilmon nodded sharply before exhaling another blast of flame at the Gekomon and Otamamon.

Takato's hand slide towards his pocket and the Digivice within it.

And then Holsmon blew past over head.

"Poison Ivy!"

Takato had enough time to hear the words before Palmon's vine-like fingers wrapped around him and his partner and they were yanked into the sky.

**XxXXxX**

Takato would have liked to have been one of those spy movie guys. You know, like James Bond. That way, when the enormous burden being put upon Holsmon finally became too much and they were sent crashing back down to Earth, Takato, who had been dangling from Palmon's fingers beneath Holsmon, would have looked cool. He would have hit the ground running or turned his fall into a roll and ended back on his feet; something like that.

Instead, he hit the ground without the slightest trace of dignity.

At least it didn't hurt.

He sat up abruptly, realizing this probably wasn't the time to dwell on his pride. Beside him, Guilmon stood, looking vaguely annoyed but not hurt. Holsmon and his passengers managed just fine, with the exception of Holsmon himself, who had used his own body to cushion the others.

That had to hurt.

Apparently realizing this, too, the girl scrambled off of Miyako's partner awkwardly, trying to simultaneously not hurt him and to get off as quickly as possible.

Mimi landed on the ground first and promptly picked Palmon up. For a moment she wanted to cheer at having been reunited with her partner, but the awareness that Takato hadn't had a conveniently Armor Digimon to protect him stopped her.

"Takato!" She said, rushing over to her junior.

The Tamer gestured dismissively and smiled.

"I'm fine." He said, standing and brushing himself off.

Holsmon devolved as soon as his partner got off his back and the Digimon looked at Takato in confusion.

Takato just smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Thanks for the save there, Hawkmon." He said. "Still, this is a bit of a tricky situation, huh? Miyako, could you contact the others?"

"Already on it." She said, removing her D-Terminal from her pocket and opening it.

"Cool. Still…it'll take them awhile to get here and once they do it'll take awhile to find us. In the mean time, we've got an army of enslaved Digimon to worry about."

Mimi blinked at him.

"How did you get here, anyway?"

"I met a Gekomon awhile back when I raided the Kaiser's Coliseum." He said, deciding to be honest. "He said his area had been captured and he wanted me to help free it. I checked it out but it was, as I'm sure you noticed, packed with enemies. It was a lot to handle for one person, so I decided to ask you guys for help. But, well…"

Takato shrugged.

"Then Gabumon got kidnapped, and Gomamon got attacked, and, well...various things happened."

Miyako nodded at that.

"If I'd known leaving it would have caused trouble for us later, I would have asked for help sooner, so I guess this is what I get for putting off to tomorrow what I should do today. I'm sorry."

Mimi shook her head quickly.

"No, don't be. I remember what it could be like when people were after your life."

"Even so." Takato said. "Until the others arrive, we're basically alone out here. Hawkmon, you hurt from that fall?"

The birdlike Digimon rolled his shoulders.

"I can still fight." He said, which didn't answer the question.

"Don't push yourself." Takato said. "We're not in a rush; if possible, I'd like to avoid a fight until the others arrive. Even so, if you're hurt and Palmon can't evolve, if something bad happens…Well, Guilmon and I will handle it if we can."

**XxXXxX**

Ken reclined in his chair, quite pleased all things considered.

His vacation was proving to have its ups and its downs. On one hand, vacation time allowed him to spend more time in the Digital World. Given more time, he managed to get more done as well. That was always good.

On the other hand, it gave the Chosen more time as well. And they had certainly been using it! In a single week, an entire continent had been torn from his control. And to add insult to injury, the Chosen had decided he was _so_ far behind that they could spend their vacation…well…having a _vacation_!

What was worse was that they may have been right. He _was_ behind. While he still controlled most of the Digital World, the Chosen were clipping at the edges and training the inhabitants of freed areas.

While he had yet to encounter an area that he felt he couldn't deal with, the fact remained that it was taking longer and longer to recapture areas, during which time the Chosen ran around freeing new ones.

At this rate, simple math would be the end of him. They had always destroyed Towers faster than he could build them, but now? He was getting slower and they were getting faster.

If one simply looked at the map, they'd think he was winning, but he knew better. He had to do something or he was going to fall eventually.

And he'd intended to! He'd been fully prepared to launch an assault on the off-guard Chosen and he'd gathered all the Digimon he could control without a Dark Tower. His Digivices range, by itself, was limited, so the amount he could take with him was as well. But he'd Chosen wisely.

And then _someone_ had to go botch the whole thing up!

In a short period of time, literally over the course of two hours, Tower after Tower fell. Nearly half a dozen had fallen before he realized something was wrong and then he'd had to divert his forces quickly to try to either deal with the problem or find its source. After a few more Towers fell, things calmed down, but he had no idea how those Towers had fallen.

As for who had done it…

He didn't have any hard proof, no. But he still knew who did it. All the new Chosen were accounted for except one.

Matsuda Takato.

He grit his teeth in annoyance just thinking of the name!

But now things were looking up. He couldn't say he'd _planned_ any of this, but he was still pleased with the results.

Two of the Chosen had been separated from the others. He wasn't sure how, but they'd been transported to another area of the Digital World; one on another continent.

One under his control.

He'd immediately sent every Digimon under his control in that entire area after them. He'd come to a decision.

Enough was enough.

He was going to crush the Chosen now. He had a chance here and he was going to take it.

So naturally _he_ had to show up.

But even so, Ken was happy. Or so upset that he had gone back to happy. Sure, Takato had saved the girls, despite being outnumbered, but that was fine.

He could just use this chance to crush him.

"Looks like we'll be having a great vacation this year, Wormmon." Ken said with uncharacteristic cheerfulness.

His partner looked at him worriedly but didn't speak.

"Wormmon." Ken said at the silence. This time his partner perked up, quickly coming to his side. "Who are the strongest Digimon in that area?"

"The Gokimon Brothers." He replied.

"I see."

Ken began to chuckle.

"Very well, then."

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon's growling alerted him to the presence of an enemy long before he could see one.

"Hold up, girls." He said. "Trouble's on the way."

He followed Guilmon's gaze and found that they were coming from behind. They came into sight just a moment later.

Takato pulled a face.

"Okay, now the Kaiser's just messing with us." He complained as a pair of giant cockroaches scurried towards them.

Miyako and Mimi seemed to share his sentiments as both looked disgusted.

"Hey ladies, what's got you down?" The creatures asked the girls in unison.

Were they flirting? Takato wondered. No, wait; rather then that; they were ignoring him completely!

He frowned and glanced at his partner.

The roaches scurried closer before continuing.

"How about a date with-"

Guilmon exhaled a stream of flames and lit them both on fire.

"Yeah, that's enough of that." Takato said, striding forward to steal back his spotlight. "Who the hell are you?"

"Gokimon." Palmon said in disgust.

The Gokimon screamed as they hurriedly put out the flames, before turning to glare at him.

"That hurt, man." The one on the left said. "Hey, big brother!"

"What is it, little brother?" The other replied.

"Let's kill him!"

"That's a good idea!"

Takato lifted an eyebrow. He wasn't aware that Digimon even had familial relationships.

"You guys are brothers?" He asked.

"The Gokimon Brothers! Got a problem!" They replied in unison.

Takato frowned.

"Yeah, and it's your face." He said.

"This guy's a prick, big brother!" The younger brother noted after a moment of silence. "Big brother, your special attack!"

"No, no, little brother; after you!" The elder brother offered graciously.

"No, no; allow me!" Takato said, quickly getting tired of their antics.

"Fire Breath!" Guilmon exhaled a wave of fire over the insects, igniting them again.

This time however, the roaches simply rolled over to put out the flames, proving themselves surprisingly nimble as the managed to stay ahead of the flames. They rolled to their feet with equally surprising smoothness.

"Dream Dust!" The both cried a moment later as they took to the air.

Takato looked on in disgust as varied pieces of trash flew towards him. Guilmon readjusted his aim without him having to say a word, reducing the garbage to spare data in seconds. The Gokimon simply giggled at the look on his face.

"Well, that was-"

The Gokimon suddenly narrowed their eyes, wicked grins never leaving their faces. Takato noticed he was suddenly in something's shadow.

And the shadow was getting larger.

A glance upwards revealed that a piano was falling from the sky.

Takato's eyebrow twitched in disbelief. Guilmon took that as his cue to do something.

"Fire Grenade!"

The layered Fireball detonated with explosive might on contact with the musical instrument, deleting it before it could crush the Tamer.

"Pointless." He finished, suddenly a bit uncertain. "Girls, I think now would be a good time for us to go."

And run they did as behind them fell a series of bizarre objects, including shelves, tables, refrigerators, barrels, and more.

"Somehow, I don't think the others will make it in time if all we do is run from things that can fly while they drop things on us." Takato said. "Hawkmon, sorry about this, but could you…?"

"Miyako?" The bird like Digimon asked.

"Digimental Up!"

"Hawkmon, shinka! Holsmon!"

Suddenly, there was a much larger bipedal Digimon beside them, but he seemed to be in pain.

Takato frowned at him.

"You can't carry many people like that." He stated, silently wondering if he could carry anyone at all. "Can you carry just Guilmon?"

Holsmon winced and was silent for a minute.

"Maybe." He said at last. "Why?"

Takato smirked.

"I have a plan, of course."

**XxXXxX**

Holsmon did his best to ignore the pain as he wove between the attacking Gokimon, who, fortunately, couldn't aim worth a damn.

He was questioning the wisdom of this plan heavily, but his passenger didn't seem to mind it at all.

Holsmon hoped there was more to that unconcern than just blind faith.

Still…

It's not like they had many other options, with him nearly out of commission and Palmon unable to evolve.

Holsmon dodged another of the Gokimon's attacks, this one a rather simple chop. He shook his head as they both slammed straight into the ground and then winced at the size of the explosion of dust. He was suddenly very glad that he'd herded them away from his partner and the others.

"Are you ready?" He asked, once they were near enough.

Guilmon just growled. Holsmon suppressed a sigh; Guilmon was hard to talk to once a fight broke out.

"Very well then."

"Gokimon Brothers Crash!"

And there they come, Holsmon thought. It would be a miracle if this actually worked.

This time, instead of dodging the easily avoided attack, he flew straight at it.

Even the Gokimon seemed surprised at this 'tactic.'

But then they narrowed their eyes and increased their speed, seeming to take it as a challenge.

At the last second, right before impact, two things happened. Holsmon ducked beneath them…

And Guilmon jumped and landed on their backs.

Holsmon was silently amazed that he actually pulled that off. Maybe his partner was simply aware of how skilled he was, rather than unaware of all the reasons it shouldn't have worked.

Guilmon grabbed the antenna of the Gokimon he was using as a mount and crushed it with one hand. The Gokimon immediately went limp beneath him.

"Little brother!" The remaining Gokimon cried, diving towards them.

"Fireball!" Guilmon said, spitting the blast right into his face. Or, more specifically, straight at his ring.

The three of them crashed into the ground together a moment later.

"Guilmon!" Holsmon shouted.

A growling noise came from beneath the bodies of the unconscious Gokimon and a moment later Guilmon pushed himself out from underneath them.

Guilmon sniffed the air twice before turning his head.

Holsmon picked up on his thoughts a moment later and nodded.

"We're near the Dark Tower." He said. "Should we…?"

Guilmon walked towards it, unharmed by the fall.

Holsmon sighed again.

**XxXXxX**

The Kaiser's hand clinched slowly into a fist.

"Another area…this is quickly becoming tiresome." He said. "Why am I having so much trouble with you…Matsuda Takato?"


	10. Chapter 10: Changing Point Part I

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Ten: Changing Point**

**Part One**

"Move Greymon to this area…" Taichi said, expression thoughtfully. "And…Koushirou, have Kabuterimon cover this area."

"Got it." His friend said.

"Garurumon and I can cover this area." Yamato said, pointing at the screen.

"Okay, then…" Jyou frowned uncertainly. "Ikkakumon is probably a good choice for this one, since it's by the water."

"Then I'll ask Mimi if she can cover the area with the Gekomon; they've always been fond of her." Koushirou said, quickly moving through windows on the computer screen.

They were acting defensively for now. The Kaiser had suddenly gotten more aggressive, probably because they had begun taking down so many Dark Towers. But while that aggression was, on one hand, reassuring, as it meant they had him on the run, it was also dangerous, because he was getting backed into a corner. He was on the offensive, now, and was attacking recently freed areas, trying to bring them under his control.

As a result, the older Chosen were moving their partner into position in those places. While they couldn't evolve in areas the Kaiser controlled, freed areas were another matter; they could send their evolved partners to the frontlines to guard it while the other freed areas sent in reinforcements to help the freed areas recover, as well as protect it.

The older Chosen covered this part of the battle, protecting the freed areas and slowing the Kaiser's attempts to advance. Meanwhile, the newer Chosen acted as the offensive force, entering the areas near the border between the captured and the freed. They ventured into the areas that were threatening the freed areas the most and destroyed the Dark Tower there. After that, the process would repeat as they gained new ground and pushed the Kaiser further and further.

Suddenly, a window arose on the screen and Mimi's face appeared. Koushirou blinked as he wasn't the one to open it.

"Ah, Mimi; you have great timing-" He began before she cut him off.

"She's awake!" Mimi said, freezing everyone in the room.

Mimi wasn't with them planning strategy for one very simple reason.

They needed someone to watch over Sora.

"You mean…?" Taichi asked, not ready to get his hopes up but very much wanting too.

Mimi nodded her head furiously and her happiness was evident.

"Sora's awake!"

**XxXXxX**

"Taichi?" Sora asked, as he walked into the tent. It was a small thing, just something they'd managed to sneak away without anyone noticing. Jyou had brought it, saying it was one that he'd gotten after their camping trip went horribly awry.

Taichi took a moment to silently thank Jyou for being the responsible one. He'd done that a lot of times.

"Sora…" He said, focusing. It was weird; after all the time he'd spent worrying by her bedside, now he honestly wasn't sure what to say.

No, that wasn't it; he had a lot to say, but he wasn't sure where to even begin.

"Where am I?" She asked.

Taichi started, realizing he hadn't even thought of that.

"What do you remember?" He asked.

She frowned and seemed to be trying to remember, but also seemed to be having a hard time doing so.

Well, Taichi thought, it was quite a long time ago.

"We were going to Pyocomon Village?" She said, hesitantly, as if asking whether or not she was wrong.

Taichi nodded.

"Because…" Suddenly her eyes widened. "Because the Village had been attacked! Everyone was gone and we found Mimi at the empty Village-"

Taichi nodded again, but Sora seemed to be ignoring him now.

"And they weren't in the Village of Beginnings, either. But we heard something was happening back at the empty Village, so you and Yamato went in, but you got attacked, right?" If it was a question, she didn't give him time to answer. "So Birdramon and I-"

Sora froze, suddenly looking around.

"Where's Piyomon?" She asked.

Taichi winced. One of the questions he'd wanted to avoid, and she hit him with it right off the bat.

Sora must have noticed his hesitance, because fear began to fill her eyes.

"Where's Piyomon!" She tried to struggle to her feet, but she ended up nearly falling over.

Taichi quickly caught her.

"Be careful." He said, before taking a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to say. "You've been asleep for awhile."

"W-what do you mean?" Sora asked, and Taichi saw that she understood; she just didn't want to accept it.

"When the Tower made Birdramon devolve, Piyomon got hit and you fell. You've been unconscious ever since." He said, before dropping the bomb. "It's after Golden Week."

Emotions crossed Sora's face too fast for him to keep track of.

"And Piyomon…?"

Well, at least there was _some_ good news he could give her.

Even if it had its downsides.

"Piyomon's okay." He said. "She was in bad shape since she took most of the blow, but she survived. However…she hasn't woken up yet. We don't know why; after about a week, she was fine, as far as we could tell."

Taichi suddenly frowned.

"And so were you. We honestly have no idea why you didn't wake up sooner."

"…And my parents?"

"I talked to them. They know what happened and they were…upset. And as for school…" Taichi trailed off with a sigh. "That was complicated. But we managed to get Agumon into the internet again, and we handled it."

He didn't really want to explain _how_ they handled it, though. It wasn't illegal, but only because there weren't any laws concerning sneaking Digital Monsters into computers and screwing around with them.

Sora apparently realized that and didn't ask.

"Sora…a lot happened while you were unconscious. And I mean _a lot_. But before I fill you in, there's something I need to ask, and I feel bad about asking you this just after you woke up, but it's really important. Do you remember anything about whom or what shot you down?"

It might be something really important. It might be just another one of the Kaiser's slaves. But either way, Taichi really wanted that information.

Sora furrowed her brow.

"I saw it." She said. "But I don't recognize it. It was big; about the size of Greymon, but maybe not as bulky. And it was red. I couldn't see a lot of details from the distance I was at, but…when Piyomon wakes up, we can ask her. Maybe she got a better look."

She hesitated.

"And…I'm not sure, but…I think I saw something…I think I saw a human nearby, too. I could barely see them and it could have been a humanlike Digimon, but…it looked like a person." She said.

Taichi had a few thoughts about that and it did a lot to confirm that the Kaiser did it, but…

"Anything else?"

Sora looked down at her hands and frowned before lifting her head to look at him again.

"It's not something I _saw_, but…while I was asleep, I guess, I had a…really strange dream about a bearded blue dragon."

Taichi blinked at that.

"Uh…?" He ventured.

"I know it sounds stupid, but he kept warning me about something." She put a hand to her head, as if it hurt. "But…why can't I remember what?"

"Oi, easy there. Dreams have a tendency to fade in the morning."

**XxXXxX**

Guardromon fired Destruction Grenades one after another.

"Intrusion. Intrusion." It said, an Evil Ring binding its will.

"Gold Rush!" Digmon shouted, launching his drills at the slaves.

Guardromon had very high defensive abilities, even for Adult Digimon.

But it didn't mean a thing. In exchange for that ability, they sacrificed a great deal of speed, and their offensive abilities weren't particularly impressive for Adult Digimon, though still powerful. In a straight up fight, they would have been very dangerous to fight, but only because it would take so much effort to keep one down.

In this case, however, they'd all been given a weak point, and one that was easily exploited at that.

Guardromon were heavily armored.

The Evil Rings were not.

Each of Digmon's drills destroyed a Ring, freeing a Guardromon.

"Shooting Star!"

"Knuckle Fire!"

There was a simply trick to defeating the Guardromon; just stay at a distance and destroy the rings. It took some aim, but that wasn't a problem.

And therefore, the Guardromon weren't a threat.

…Is what Daisuke would have liked to say.

"What is with these guys!" He said as they ran.

The Guardromon were easy to take out.

But there were just so many of them! And they just kept coming and coming! Whenever they freed a Guardromon, it just stood still and the others marched around it.

And there were a lot of others; Daisuke had never seen this many Adult Digimon in one place.

"They're going to wear us down like this!" Iori said. "We have to go!"

"I agree!" Miyako threw in. "We're so outnumbered…we should retreat for now!"

"But the Tower's right there!" Daisuke protested. "If we can just get to it, then it does matter how many of them there are! If we break it, we win!"

"Daisuke…" Fladramon whispered. "We should go back and come up with a plan. I can't take much more of this."

Daisuke looked at his partner and grit his teeth. But then he sighed.

"Okay, okay; I get it!" He said. "But where is Takato!"

"I saw him that way!" Hikari said, pointing over the Guardromon's heads. "I can reach him if I go around!"

She ducked into an allyway before anyone could protest.

Daisuke was alarmed to notice that none of the Guardromon paid her a second glance, staying focused on them instead.

"Hikari!" He tried to warn. "It's a trap!"

The Guardromon immediately began to fire upon them.

"Knuckle Fire!" Fladramon shouted, taking out a trio of slaves.

And then, he was engulfed in a bright light, reverting back to V-mon.

"S-shit…" V-mon said, unsteady on his feet. "Not now…"

"V-mon!" Daisuke shouted as the Guardromon continued to fire. He scooped his partner up into his arms and tried to run, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to escape the blasts.

There was a bright light and an explosion, but when Daisuke realized he wasn't dead or hurt, he looked back to see Armadimon lying prone on the ground. Immediately, all the Guardromon shifted, changing targets to the fallen Digimon.

"Armadimon!" Iori shouted, worriedly.

"Shit!" Daisuke cursed, already turning back. He knew that if he couldn't escape while carrying V-mon, then he sure as hell couldn't while carrying Armadimon too, but he had to try.

He didn't want to leave any of his friends behind.

"Daisuke, just run!" Miyako said, Holsmon already swooping down to Armadimon's rescue. "We got this!"

Holsmon grabbed Armadimon awkwardly with his front paws and lifted him into the air. The Guardromon quickly changed their targets, and Miyako found herself being attacked from all directions by little missles.

"Miyako!" Iori shouted worriedly, but the girl and her Digimon seemed to be doing a good job of running away from the attacks.

"Takeru!" Daisuke said, choosing to have faith in Miyako. "Can you get to Hikari and Takato!"

"They won't let me through!" He snarled angrily in return.

Daisuke understood his feelings.

"Damn it!" He swore as the Guardromon's attack forced him to abandon his friends.

**XxXXxX**

"Hikari, this is a trap." Takato said quite calmly the moment he saw Hikari.

Hikari nodded ruefully.

"I realized that about halfway here, but it was too late to do anything about it. And it's not like we could have left you here, even if it was a trap."

"Thanks, but that's not what I meant." He replied. "I meant that this entire area was one giant trap and that all of us walked into it."

"Ah?" She said, surprised. But when she looked over her shoulder, she began to understand. "Actually…now that you mention it…I would have thought that 'literal armies of powerful Adult Digimon' would have come up when we heard about this area, huh?"

Takato nodded.

"We heard that this area was dangerous because it was attacking nearby areas and they were having trouble with it, but this army could have steamrolled over all of the areas around it." He said. "But it didn't. I think it was putting up just enough fight to draw our attention to it and get us to rush in as if it was any other area."

"And we did." Hikari added, sighing.

"And we did." Takato agreed.

"But…why aren't they attacking us?" She wondered. She'd grabbed Takato and pulled him out of sight, but none of them had attacked the two, despite having many chances.

"We're not important, yet." He said. "They're heading for the gate."

Hikari froze at his words, eyes widening.

"W-what?"

"They're going for the gate." Takato continued calmly. "They aren't chasing us right now because they have no need to. After the gate is destroyed, we'll be two humans and their partners in the middle of Kaiser Territory. He can hunt us down at his leisure; it's not like it matters. This area is completely sealed off. The only way for us to get out if the gate is destroyed would be to blow a hole through the walls. Which we could do, sure, but that would give our location away and even if we escaped, we'd have to run to the next area, at least. While being chased."

"Then we have to get to the gate before it's destroyed!" Hikari said. When Takato didn't reply, she was confused. "…Right?"

Takato sighed.

"Well…it would be nice if we could do something like that. But in that case, we wouldn't be having that problem. But if the six of us at full power can't fight our way from the gate to the tower, then the two of us won't be able to fight our way from here to the gate."

"Then…the Tower."

"The Tower's our best bet." Takato agreed. "But our odds aren't good. Once they destroy the gate, it should be obvious that our only real way out of here is to destroy that tower in turn. As such, the defenses around it must be amazing."

"Then what do we do?" Hikari asked. "You look calm…you have a plan, don't you?"

"It's not much of one. In fact, it's probably not elaborate enough to be called a plan, even. But…yeah, I have a plan. Send a message to Daisuke and the others. Tell them to get out of here before the gate is destroyed and leave us behind. They should get away, feed their partners, and rest. Afterwards, they should enter the Digital World through a nearby area and come the long way. You and I will just have to survive until then."

Hikari swallowed.

"That could take them awhile." She said, but she took out her D-Terminal and started writing.

"Hm…" Takato smiled. "Well, it shouldn't be a problem from one of the Older Chosen; you had to live here, after all."

Hikari took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

But when they opened, the resolve in them had hardened.

"Sure. A city full of Adult Digimon? No problem. Mugendramon's area was way worse."

Takato's smile widened and he nodded towards her.

"I'll be in your care, then, Hikari-sempai."

**XxXXxX**

The four Chosen Children crashed into the ground in a particularly rough landing.

"Did something just explode?" Miyako asked, scrambling to her feet. Thankfully, nothing seemed wrong in the lab itself.

"Guardromon…" Takeru groaned out, lifting himself off the ground. His partner nodded on his shoulder.

"I saw it; a Guardromon attacked. We made it just in time!" Patamon chimed in.

Daisuke just glared at the wall.

"We still failed. Twice even." He said. "We didn't destroy the Tower and, what's worse, we left Hikari and Takato behind."

"You saw Hikari's message just like the rest of us." Iori said, acting as the voice of reason but quite obviously not happy about it. "There was nothing we could do and staying behind would have just made things worse, for both us and them."

"Iori's right." Miyako agreed. "Right now, we have to have faith in Takato and Hikari. They said they would stay out of danger until we could mount a rescue, so we'll have to believe them. If the gate had been destroyed with us on the other side, then we wouldn't have been able to do anything to help either of them; at least this way, we can save them later."

Daisuke didn't say anything, but he didn't stop glaring at the wall, either.

Takeru understood his feelings, but knew that now wasn't the time.

"…Rather than feeling bad about it…we'll just have to make up for our weakness later, won't we Daisuke?" He said.

"…You're right." Daisuke said, standing. "Miyako, go find anything that's edible; our partner's need to eat something. Iori, you go with her just in case."

He hesitated here, but continued a moment later.

This wasn't something he wanted to do.

But it was something he needed to do.

"I'll go talk to Taichi. Takeru, could you explain things to the others?"

**XxXXxX**

"All things considered…" Hikari began, thinking quickly. "We can't stay here. They'll find us too easily and when they do, we'll both die."

Takato conceded that point without argument, choosing to keep his thoughts of Growmon to himself.

He wasn't in actual danger yet, but if the Guardromon cornered him again, he was evolving his partner and that was the end of the story. Growmon's Exhaust Flame could probably take down the Tower from this distance.

If Hikari had escaped, as well…

He suppressed a sigh at the missed opportunity.

"Where do you suggest we go, then?" He asked.

Hikari looked around. This area was full of buildings, which were the obvious place to hide. With so many skyscrapers, it would require a lot of time to search them all.

Unless they had security cameras or something, which she couldn't discount, then it would take hours to find them by just looking.

But then she shook her head, dismissing the idea. While that may have been true if the Guardromon had no idea where they were, they'd seen both of them in this area and Guardromon filled the streets. If they'd tried to run, they would have been noticed. As such, the Guardromon could probably guess that they were still around here and simply fence off this area or something. Searching the buildings would still take time, of course, but with the limited number of places they could be, it wouldn't take hours.

And if the Guardromon found them within the buildings, that would be it. Space would be limited in the rooms and halls of the buildings and if they ventured above the first few forms, they'd have no way out since neither of their partners could fly.

No, the buildings were too isolated.

But the roads were to open. Anybody could see that and they could be surrounded. And there was also the fact that the Guardromon literally filled the streets. Add that to how they knew these streets since they lived here and staying out in the open was a bad idea.

Not to mention that if they tried, they'd have to run for hours, something that would simply be impossible for them.

They couldn't stay in the streets and they couldn't hide in the buildings. Where did that leave?

Something caught Hikari's eye.

"We're going down." She said, nodding towards what she saw.

**XxXXxX**

"I must admit." Ken began, looking at the screen. "This is even better then I'd planned."

Takato and that girl had fallen into his trap. It wasn't as ideal as capturing _all_ of the Chosen, of course, but the trap had mainly been for Takato and that boy with the Digmon. The latter had gotten away, but at least he'd gotten his most consistent annoyance.

"But Ken-chan," Wormmon started worriedly. "What about that girl? She seems to know what she's doing."

The Kaiser frowned in silently agreement. She'd foolishly rushed in, but since then, they'd managed to avoid his servants. If she managed to keep away from them long enough, then he might have to rethink whether she was being foolish or if she was just that good.

But, if that happened, his plan would have failed completely and this entire setup would have been a waste.

And he did not intend to let that happen. He was on the defensive at this point and he was steadily being pushed back.

It had gotten to the point where he had to honestly contemplate the possibility of defeat.

A few weeks ago, he would have laughed if someone had suggested that as being possible; that _he_ would lose to a bunch of kids who happened to have Digimon. Granted, he was a kid himself, but he was a genius, too. He should have crushed them like he crushed everyone else.

And yet…here he was.

He was beginning to sound like a cartoon villain with his I'll-get-you-next-time's but never actually being able to.

Had he actually had a real victory against the Chosen, yet?

He didn't think so.

Ah, but Wormmon was waiting for an answer, wasn't he?

"Yes…she is one of the returning Chosen, isn't she? One of the two who found the ability to Armor evolve? I suppose she probably knows what she's doing." He said casually, attempting to belay his unease.

He could let things progress normally and let the Guardromon wander around until they found them, but…

He had no guarantee that they would.

And if he was to be honest with himself, he didn't actually expect them too.

If there was one thing the Chosen had proven consistently, it was that they were more competent then his normal slaves.

Then…

"I just had a good idea." He said after a moment. "Let's test him."

**XxXXxX**

He carefully searched the area where the intruders were last spotted.

He stopped over the sewer cap, examining it carefully. Drawing on his databanks, he confirmed that it was slightly different from the norm.

Loosened.

He quickly realized the most likely explanation given the current state of things.

If the intruders were to enter through this opening, they'd have to open the cap and enter. Once doing so, however, it would be hard to close from the inside. None of the Guardromon were small enough to enter through this opening and none of the smaller Digimon were currently on the streets; as such, it was likely they didn't worry about it, either.

Of course, he was too big to enter either and he was unsure how long ago they entered. As such, he couldn't be sure where exactly they were now in the city's extensive sewers.

Tearing his way through the ground and entering the sewer in this location would accomplish little. He needed to get a better grasp of his target's locations.

His databanks quickly supplied the answer and Andromon moved on.

**XxXXxX**

"So that's what happened." Taichi said, closing his eyes.

Daisuke looked at him uncertainly. He'd expected –maybe even hoped– for anger.

But there was none of that.

No…rather, there was a great deal of emotion brewing beneath the surface, Daisuke felt.

But…

He didn't think that any of it was directed at him.

"If Hikari is trapped, then obviously we need to rescue her." Taichi said after a moment.

Daisuke nodded.

"We're already on it. Our partner's were exhausted in the fight, however, so they'll need awhile to recover."

His face flushed in shame, but Taichi merely nodded. The only expression on his face was a frown of consideration.

"Did Hikari send you any messages?" He asked, surprising Daisuke.

"Ah…Yeah. When we got separated, she told us to leave before the Guardromon reach the gate. She said we should come back later by entering through a nearby area. She said that she and Takato could manage until then."

"As expected from Hikari. Don't blame yourself, Daisuke. You are not the first Chosen to have fallen into a trap and you're not the first group separated by one." Taichi said. "We'll save her. Go feed your partner and…call your family, too. This could take awhile."

"What's this about Hikari?" A voice Daisuke didn't recognize asked.

But when he looked behind him, he recognized the girl it belonged to and his eyes widened.

"An army of robot Digimon separated the group and now Hikari is stuck somewhere in a mechine city." Taichi replied with remarkable casualness.

Sora tilted her head to the side, looking worried.

But what she said was:

"…Hasn't this happened before?"

"Yeah." Taichi replied. "But it's a different city and a different army."

"Ah." She said. "Where is it?"

Taichi frowned at her and Daisuke thought he was going to protest letting her go anywhere, but seemed to think better of it at the last moment.

"Is Piyomon awake yet?" He asked.

Sora looked at him sourly.

"I didn't think so. Don't go anywhere; I'll be back in a few hours."

**XxXXxX**

The Tamer tilted his head to the side.

"And what are you, I wonder?" Takato asked, while Guilmon braced himself for battle at his side. Oddly, his partner seemed to be shaking in…disgust?

The creature's rotten, asymmetric face gave no sign of having heard his question. It simply continued to stare silently with its red eyes. They'd stumbled upon him while moving through the sewers aimlessly. It's not like they really had anywhere to be; they were just wasting time, after all.

Behind him, Hikari made a gagging noise. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the expressions of disgust on her and Tailmon's faces.

"Something wrong?" He asked them.

"How can you not smell that? It's vile!" Tailmon said, her tone as disgusted as her expression had been.

Ah, Takato thought, of course. It was something in the game.

He didn't smell anything, though, so instead he just clicked his tongue and smiled at her.

"That's rude, Tailmon." He said.

Hikari swallowed her distaste and nodded.

"He's right, Tailmon." She said. "He doesn't seem to have an Evil Ring. Probably because he lives down here in the sewers."

"See?" Takato said. "He's not an enemy."

He placed a hand on his partner's head.

"Be polite, Guilmon." He said.

Guilmon relaxed, but still couldn't hide his revulsion.

Well, he did have a very sensitive nose…

Both Tailmon and Guilmon perked up, startling both their partners.

"Tailmon? What's wrong?" She asked.

"I hear something." Her ears twitched as they stood in silence, not even breathing.

Making unnecessary noise could distract their Digimon and if it had drawn their attention like this, it was probably important.

"Footsteps." Guilmon growled.

"Guardromon." Hikari's partner added. "There must be other entrances to the sewer…"

Both of the humans stiffened.

"Should we go back to the surface?" Takato asked. "We're pretty far from where we started; they'll have a hard time finding us."

Hikari thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"These Sewers are huge." She said. "The odds of a group finding us in them this fast is amazingly low, _if_ they're searching blind. Unless there was an army down here…"

Tailmon shook her head.

"I would have heard it." She stated.

Guilmon nodded in agreement.

"Then…you think they're watching us?" Takato asked.

Hikari nodded.

"And if so, it only makes sense for there to be a group up top as well." She said. "Let's try to gather a bit more information before we end up walking into another trap."

"In that case, it seems we'll be leaving now." Takato told the strange looking Digimon. "You should probably hide somewhere until we free this area, or else you might get hurt."

The creature looked at him for a moment and Takato wondered if he understood, but then nodded.

**XxXXxX**

"The entrance is right there, but…" Takeru said.

"Tch. I should have expected there would be guards." Daisuke scolded himself.

Takeru wanted to tell him he was being too hard on himself. In fact, he intended to ask Taichi or his older brother to talk to him.

But it would have to wait until later.

"How do we get in?" Takeru asked. "Can Digmon drill through sand, Iori?"

The youngest amongst them turned to his partner and spoke after receiving a silent nod.

"No problem."

"Then should we drill our way in?" Takeru asked Daisuke.

After a moment, he nodded.

"Yeah. But…if they're really are hunting Takato and Hikari…" Daisuke began, thinking. "Then…being subtle might not be the best choice."

Takeru nodded, understanding.

"While sneaking in would make things easier for us, an army of Guardromon are chasing after Takato and Hikari." He refused to accept the possibility that they'd been captured already, because he knew what that would mean for them. "If we made a ruckus, it would divert their forces, making things easier on those two."

"Then…" Miyako lifted an eyebrow. "Should we go through the front door?"

Daisuke bit his lip before shaking his head.

"No; diverting their forces is important, but we have to remember that our main goal is finding Hikari and Takato; it's fine if we have to abandon this area today, since we can always come back some other time with a better plan. As long as we can get them out, it's our victory, as far as I'm concerned, and having an army chasing after us would just get in the way of that. No, most of us should go with Digmon. But a distraction would be useful…"

Daisuke tilted his head to the side in thought. A moment later, he nodded to himself and turned towards Takeru.

But, for some reason, he hesitated before saying what he had in mind.

"…I'll go distract them." He said instead. "Fladramon and I can take out that Guard and make a ruckus to draw attention to ourselves. If needed, we can back out the way we came and get back to one of the free areas."

He patted his backpack, which had a bento inside.

"Thanks to Miyako, we have plenty of food, so I don't have to worry about V-mon getting hungry. Takeru, I'll leave saving them to you."

Says the man who really wants to rush in there to save his friends, Takeru thought. If he'd been sacrificing that chance because it was the best move, Takeru would have thought it admirable, but in this case, he just sighed and rolled his eyes.

He turned to Miyako and Iori.

"You'll have to forgive him; what he _meant_ to say was that _I_ would go make a scene while _he_ lead you after you snuck in." He glared at Daisuke. "After all, my partner can both carry me and fly, so I don't have to worry about being cornered or caught _and_ I can search the city from above. Something that would blow our cover if I tried doing it while sneaking around."

Daisuke was silent for a second. Of course, he knew all that. In fact, he was going to ask Takeru to play the role of distraction. But…

"Takeru…" He began.

"Daisuke, I know you feel guilty for what happened to Hikari." Takeru said, cutting him off. "And I understand that you don't want to put the rest of us in danger. Honestly, I appreciate that, since you're the one usually giving orders. But don't let it get in the way of your judgment. I don't want to get hurt and…I don't want to see any of my friends get hurt. But it's for that reason that I fight; so that I can protect everyone. Hikari, Takato, my family in the Real World, and…"

Takeru looked at the three younger Chosen and their partners.

"Of course…all of you as well. Because, I don't want to see my friend's get hurt. For that reason, if it will help Takato and Hikari, I don't mind doing this, even if it's dangerous." He focused on Daisuke, then. "And…you really want to protect your friends, too, don't you Daisuke? I know that you don't want to have to run and leave them behind."

A glance at the others told the Leader of the New Chosen that Takeru knew that didn't apply to just Takato and Hikari.

Daisuke fell silent again at his friend's words.

And then he surprised Iori and Miyako when he bowed to Takeru.

"Thank you, Takeru."

"Hmph." Takeru huffed, though there was a smile on his face. "If you have time to thank me, shouldn't you go play hero? I'll be fine."

Takeru's expression became serious.

"I promise."

Still bowing, Daisuke closed his eyes and smirked.

"Yes…!" He rose. "Iori?"

"On it."

Takeru watched as his friends left before smiling at Patamon, who returned the expression.

"I'm happy." His partner said, bubbly as always. "It seems we've some good friends this time around, too."

"Yeah." Takeru agreed before turning his attention to the Guardromon who was, appropriately, guarding the gate. "…Patamon?"

"Yes?"

"You know what I just realized?"

His partner looked at him inquisitively.

Takeru smirked.

"The only Dark Tower around is the one inside." He said, already lifting his Digivice.

Patamon smiled.

**XxXXxX**

"Which way?" Takato asked.

Tailmon looked around.

"That way." She said, nodding to the opening in the side of the strangely spacious sewer. "There are Guardromon coming from that direction."

She nodded again, this time towards the direction they had been travelling in the straight tunnel.

"And there are some behind us, too…" Hikari said, but she sounded a bit worried.

Takato knew why.

He looked at his current companions one by one and spoke.

"So none of you guys are going to say it?" He asked. "This is totally a trap. I mean, it's pretty obvious. Every time we come to one of these intersections, there's always Guardromon blocking every path except one. Now, if that had happened once or twice, maybe I could buy it being an issue of manpower or something, but this has happened _seven times_. We're being lead somewhere."

Hikari looked at him but didn't disagree; which, in this case, was pretty much the same as a complete agreement.

"But…" Tailmon said, not denying it either. "Why? Why not just close in on us in these tunnels? An Army of Guardromon in relatively close quarters…we'd lose, for sure."

"…Not necessarily." Takato disagreed. "It's true that in these tunnels, a fight involving explosives is far from ideal, but at the same time, that hurts the Guardromon even more than it does us. They're a group of large, slow moving Digimon and their attacks involve explosions. If they were lucky, they could drop the tunnel on us, but…Guilmon, would you?"

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon cried, slamming a claw into the side of the passage and startling Hikari and Tailmon. It dented noticeably but didn't break.

"I thought as much." Takato said, nodding. "This tunnel is remarkably well built. I don't doubt for a second that they could bring it down, but I bet it'll take long enough for us to get out of the way. And while bringing it down on top of us would kind of suck, bringing it down _behind_ us or in front of us would ruin their day, since we could continue on a free direction. Remember, all we need to do is find a way up to the surface and this plan of theirs is ruined. We saw plenty of sewer caps up top; I bet there aren't that many paths through the sewers that don't come across _any_ of them. In fact, if this isn't the only one, I'd be surprised."

"You think they want to keep us down here?" Hikari wondered, glancing upwards.

"They almost surely have a way of keeping an eye on us while we're down here. It's not the best place for a bunch of Guardromon to fight, but they _do_ have a pretty major tactical advantage. They know how to navigate this place and we don't."

"But…" Tailmon began, thoughtfully looking at the open passageway. "They aren't _just_ trying to keep us down here. They're leading us towards something. What?"

Takato shrugged.

"Who knows? Something better suited to fighting down here? Something worse than a bunch of Guardromon? It could even just be a large number of Guardromon; enough of them could bring down a tunnel pretty quickly, I bet. I'm kind of curious, but not enough to actually want to find out."

Tailmon nodded in agreement to that.

"Then should we face the Guardromon?" Hikari asked. "We have no way of knowing if what's waiting for us down that way; it could be worse than the Guardromon, but it could be better, too. Fighting the Guardromon is risky; if something goes wrong…I know you said the tunnel is sturdy, but…"

"Also," Tailmon added. "Guardromon have missiles. As a cat, I'm allergic to explosive weaponry, especially while within confined spaces."

Takato smiled at them.

"Did you guys never get that speech about the path of least resistance?" He wondered. "The Guardromon are dangerous, but they have the weakness of the Evil Rings and we spent, like, three hours up top proving that we could hit those Rings. If we can take out the first few, Tailmon can dive into melee and break the Rings on everyone behind them and Guilmon can follow up with some Rock Breakers. It would require us to be fast and lucky, but…it's that or walk into another trap."

The girls went silent for a moment.

Takato glanced at his silent partner. It seemed the sewers didn't agree with his sensitive nose.

"You think you can make you Fire Breath hot enough to stop a group of Guardromon, boy? If you do, we can find a way back to the surface and get you out of here."

Guilmon eagerly nodded at that.

Takato lifted an eyebrow at the girls.

They glanced at each other and sighed, but there were smiles on their faces.

"Fine." Hikari said. "Let's do this."

**XxXXxX**

Andromon watched his four targets wordlessly. He was currently connected directly to the computer system of this city. Through that connection, he watched the Chosen and their partners and through that connection, he contacted and directed the Guardromon.

His plan was simple. Herd the Chosen to an area where their odds of escape were extremely low. Naturally, he wasn't worried about the battle that would no doubt follow; he was a Perfect.

It would take more than two Adults to defeat him.

Sadly, that plan seemed to have failed. The Chosen had noticed that they were being led along, which, he suppose, was unsurprising.

Andromon wasn't overly bothered by that failure, however; he'd more or less expected it. This plan, forcing them to take one specific path to one specific place while preventing escape, wasn't particularly subtle.

No, he hadn't expected it to work.

But it would have been nice if it had.

If they hadn't noticed, he could have led them straight to him, closed the only door, locked it from the outside, and planted an army of Guardromon on the other side of the door. They chances of survival would have been…

He wouldn't say impossible, for he didn't believe in the word and didn't have access to all the information he'd need to safely make that assumption.

But…

While not impossible, they would have been, at least, astronomically low, according to the information currently at his disposal.

Sadly, it was not meant to be.

Oh, well. Since he hadn't expected it to work, he'd made a number of plans based off its failure. While there was always the possibility that they would mess up in their fight against the Guardromon and die, rendering the issue moot, he would also operate under the assumption that the Guardromon would fail, as they largely had on the surface.

Andromon consulted a map of the cities sewers, pulling it up from his data banks. He noted the Chosen's current location, his current location, and charted the fastest route to get to the former from the latter and immediately set off.

If he couldn't bring them here, he would go to where they were. Again, he wasn't worried; he had observed their rates of movement and he knew he could move quite a bit faster than any of them, baring surprises. In addition, all of them were quite tired at this point and exhaustion would likely set in soon, if it hadn't already; they'd fought for hours, run for hours, and been forced to be on high alert for hours.

However, he wouldn't underestimate them. Something in the back of his head, like a half forgotten voice, told him that the Chosen were truly strong, and, as their performances against his master in the past supported this, he had no reason to doubt that.

While he was still confident that he would have no trouble defeating them in a straight fight, he would acknowledge the possibility of escape; he'd tried getting them to this place for the very reason of preventing that and failed. In the same way, they had often escaped from his master during past conflicts.

He didn't like the thought of failure, but he would acknowledge the possibility of it, nonetheless.

What to do then? If the possibility occurred, he should have a plan to deal with it, just in case.

It didn't take much thought to come up with a plan.

If they escaped together, he'd continue to hunt them down.

If they split up, he'd go after one of them.

But, in the latter case, which one?

The boy was dangerous, Andromon remembered. That was what his master had told him. The obvious choice was to go after him.

But, for some reason, he couldn't get the girl's face out of his mind.

A memory lingered just beyond his grasp, teasing him. For a brief moment, he thought of another girl, years younger, but the thought vanished a moment later, like a dream come dawn.

Such a thing didn't change anything, though.

Or rather…

It _shouldn't_ have changed anything.

But, even so…

If forced to make the choice, Andromon decided he would chase the girl.

**XxXXxX**

In the following moment, three things happened at once. It was unintentional, but the Chosen had acted in perfect unity.

And they all did the same thing.

The three groups were scattered across one area, but the all moved steadily towards the completion of their missions.

One pair; Takeru and Patamon, laid siege to the city gates.

**XxXXxX**

The light of evolution enveloped the unintimidating Digimon and when it faded, Angemon took to the skies. The darkness of night was washed away by his glory and the attention of the Gatekeeper was drawn in an instant.

It mattered not.

"Hand of Fate!"

The power of the attack blew away the Guardromon in an instant and erased the doors behind it in that same moment.

It didn't even deserve to be called a fight, but Takeru wasn't surprised. If there was one thing he knew was reliable, it was Angemon's power.

Angemon stepped into the city, but couldn't take more than a few steps before reverting back to Patamon.

The Child Digimon turned in midair as his partner caught up to him.

"I'm back to normal." He said, his disappointment obvious in his voice.

Takeru just smiled at his partner.

"Don't worry; we knew that would happen." He replied reasonably. "It can't be helped."

Sounds of motion drew their attention and it became obvious that they'd achieved their goal.

Well, marching up to someone's house and kicking down the door does generally draw people's notice, Takeru thought. And that's basically what they'd done, only with explosions.

Takeru gazed calmly in the direction of the approaching noise. There were a lot of them; that much was obvious. But once you've been chased through a castle by a Dark Master out to turn you into a keychain, most other things simply didn't compare.

"Digimental Up."

"Patamon, Armor Shinka!"

**XxXXxX**

Two pairs fought beneath the ground.

**XxXXxX**

In all honesty, it wasn't that great of a plan.

'Beat up the Guardromon before they can start shooting.' They weren't going to go down in the history books for coming up with that strategy.

But Takato and Hikari had an advantage over their opponents. Two of them, really.

Their names were Tailmon and Guilmon.

The Guardromon may have been Adults, but they were large, slow moving Adults in a small area, with basically zero maneuverability. Not to mention their obvious weakness of their Evil Rings.

Meanwhile, Tailmon was a small, fast-moving target who could easily move around in the, to her, fairly large tunnel. And, though most did not remember, there had been a time and a place when she'd bounced the Adult forms of the partners of the older Chosen around like impudent children to buy Vamdemon's army time.

Guilmon wasn't as small as Tailmon, but he was notably smaller than the Guardromon, and he was, quite frankly, a monster.

Such are the benefits of feasting upon the broken remains of one's enemies.

"Fire Breath!" Guilmon roared, exhaling a wave of flames and tremendous heat.

It wasn't the best of ideas to throw around fire in a tunnel, Takato mused, glancing at Hikari who suffered momentarily from the heat and consumed oxygen.

He didn't even notice, but…

"Guilmon, that's enough." He said and his partner promptly stopped. The flames snuffed out amazingly quickly, likely willed to do so by their creator.

However, just because he'd paused in his assault didn't mean the Guardromon were safe or that they were left unharmed. The front three Guardromon had their chest plates badly scorched and their rings destroyed. Those behind them were largely protected by their comrade's bodies, but it didn't matter, because, as they always did, the freed Guardromon halted in their tracks and refused to move.

In the confines of the tunnel, they served to halt to approach of their former fellows.

Tailmon was a white blur as she dove into the fray, moving between the legs of one of the freed Guardromon and zigzagging towards the nearest slave.

"Neko Punch!" She said, lashing out with claws copied from SaberLeomon's data.

The Evil Ring shattered and she immediately grabbed a hold of the wheel on Guardromon's chest with her other hand. With that hand, she lifted herself high enough to place her feet on it and jumped, in two bounds, to the unresponsive Guardromon's head and then as high in the air as the tunnel would allow.

Guilmon penetrated the Guardromon's ranks a moment later, barreling through the freed Guardromon in the front row without any hesitation or remorse and attacking the first slave he saw.

Tailmon was grateful she'd noticed what he was doing and continued onto the next row; she didn't want to get involved in that fight.

"Surudoi Tsume!" Guilmon cried, lashing out with his sharp claws. He knew the Guardromon were slaves and that he wasn't supposed to hurt them, but he also knew his Tamer was in danger, which took precedence.

Even so, he tried to hold back.

His claws rent the armor of the Guardromon even as they freed them from the Kaiser.

He considered himself mostly successful.

"Wild Scratch!"

Two more slashes left two more gashes on two more Guardromon, taking them out of the fight along with their Rings.

Landing, Tailmon delivered a mighty kick to the Guardromon she's landed on, before using the resulting impulse to perform a back flip, landing gently on Guilmon's head.

She frowned down at her ride.

"Be more gentle, Guilmon. It's not their fault that they've been enslaved; I don't see what you're being so ferocious about-"

"Warning Laser!" The last remaining Guardromon cried, launching twin beams of light from his eyes.

Guilmon dove to the side, nearly throwing Tailmon off, landing…

Right in the path of the attack.

A snarl and slight jostle were his only reactions to the attack.

Tailmon glanced over her shoulder at the two humans who would have been hit by the attack before returning her gaze to the Guardromon, displeasure shining in her eyes.

"Nevermind." She said, jumping from his head. "Neko Punch!"

"Rock Breaker!"

**XxXXxX**

And three pairs hunted for their comrades below the city.

**XxXXxX**

"Gold Rush!" Digmon cried, launching his drills and freeing the four Guardromon.

"This way," Daisuke said, squeezing past the suddenly still Digimon without a moment's hesitation.

The others followed him wordlessly; or rather, they followed his Digivice.

They'd managed to find Hikari and Takato's signals, but when they checked the surface, there hadn't been anyone on it. That had stumped them for a moment, but Daisuke remembered what Sora had said and they had decided to check beneath it.

Sure enough, they had burst into a sewer of some sort. Almost immediately, they'd been under siege, which was problematic, since Holsmon couldn't fly very well and they'd quickly learnt that letting Fladramon go all out was a bad idea.

They'd been forced to rely on Digmon, who was holding up well so far, but Daisuke didn't want to be stuck down here for very long if he could help it.

Luckily, their friend's signals were nearby.

All they had to do was fight their way through the Guardromon…

Suddenly a path cleared through the Guardromon.

The Chosen stopped moving, though they weren't sure why.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the end of their vision. It was different from the Guardromon in size and shape, but all they could see of him were his two red eyes and the occasional glimmer of bright steel.

"Who…who are you?" Daisuke wondered.

Andromon stepped forward into the light.

**XxXXxX**

Takato and Hikari ran behind their partners.

They were in a hurry, now; they'd broken through the Guardromon, but now they needed to get to the surface.

"Wait," Tailmon suddenly said.

The two humans obeyed immediately, worried that they were walking into another trap.

Tailmon was still on top of Guilmon's head. She'd claimed the spot after the battle and allowed Guilmon to carry her. While his partner hadn't objected, Takato almost had. His partner wasn't some horse to be ridden.

The Catlike Digimon's ears twitched a few times before she glance at her partner.

"Nothing," She said.

Hikari blinked.

"Nothing?" She questioned.

"I don't hear anything anymore," Tailmon clarified.

Takato frowned and glanced behind him.

"Weren't there Guardromon behind us?" He asked, suppressing the urge to take out his Digivice.

"They're gone," Tailmon said after a moment of concentration. "Or, at least, I can't hear them anymore. They could have fallen too far behind, but…"

That was doubtful, Takato silently agreed. They'd chased them through the city and then into the sewers without losing them. And they apparently had a way of watching them.

But then, why weren't they there? Were they setting up another trap? Could they have all gone to the surface? Would an army of Guardromon be waiting for them when they went up?

No. That couldn't be it. Takato was sure of one thing; the ordinary sewer caps were too small for the Guardromon to go through. For them to have gotten down here, they must have used some other entrance. In that case, for them to get back to the surface, they would need to use those same entrances. And after all the time they'd spent in down here and all the running they'd done, it was impossible for them all to be nearby such an entrance. And it was unlikely that one of those entrances would lead to a spot near where they would be exiting the Sewers.

No, there couldn't be an army up there yet…but it wouldn't be weird if they were already migrating to the surface. If they had broken through and the Guardromon thought that they wouldn't be able to catch up, then it would make sense that they'd start heading for the surface.

But surely they had to know that time was against them, right? After all, it would take time for them to leave the sewers and it would take more time for them to move from…where ever that would put them to the sewer cap that _they_ would be exiting. And since they had no intention of sticking around, it would take more time for the Guardromon to hunt them down.

Surely they didn't think the others would just abandon them? They couldn't be _that_ stupid, they had know it was only a matter of time before the others-

A matter of time.

_Damn it_.

"Hikari, how long have we been down here?" He asked.

Hikari blinked at the sudden and unexpected question, but reached for her Digivice after a moment's pause.

She didn't even have time to switch to the clock function before realization struck and she understood Takato's question.

"They're here." She said, showing him the glowing dots on her Digivice's screen.

Takato sighed in relief.

"Finally. Let's hurry up and get to the surface-"

"No," Hikari said, cutting him off. "They're _here_. As in, _down here_."

This time, it was Takato who needed a moment to understand and after he did, he needed a few more to associate that information with the disappearance of the Guardromon.

"Shit!" He swore. "There must be an army after them!"

"Follow me." Hikari ordered, brushing past him without another word.

**XxXXxX**

The new Chosen were fighting Andromon with everything they had.

The new Chosen were getting their asses kicked.

Digmon slid back at the kick just in time to catch the badly beaten Holsmon as he was thrown. But he had no place to talk; he probably looked just as bad. While Fladramon stayed back, his involvement being too risky, he and Holsmon were going toe-to-toe with a Perfect level Digimon.

It…was going about as well as could be expected.

"Red Sun!" Holsmon cried, aiming for Andromon's weak point. Even if he was a Perfect, if they could shatter that ring, it was their victory!

But…he already knew this tactic wouldn't work.

Andromon lifted his left arm and blocked with his metal-encased forearm and didn't make a sound to show that he even noticed the impact.

"Gold Rush!" Digmon tried, not willing to risk using Big Crack in a tunnel.

Andromon calculated the speed and trajectory of each drill and caught the one meant for his ring with his left hand. He allowed the remaining drills to bounce harmlessly off of him as he crushed the drill in his hand into powder.

"Digmon." He identified his attacker. This was one of the targets his Master most wished to die. Digmon…and the boy behind him, as well.

He turned to face them fully.

Daisuke's eyes sharpened at the action. He knew that their new opponent was targeting Iori, now.

He also knew that he wouldn't allow that to happen.

"Fladramon, remember that thing about you staying back?" He asked. "Now would be a good time to forget that _completely_."

Fladramon didn't hesitate for a second; he simply dove into the fray where he knew he belonged.

"Knuckle Fire!" He shouted, attacking with a fist encased in flames. As he predicted, Andromon caught it with his left hand.

He hadn't used his right yet; was he unable to or was there something special about it?

Only one way to find out.

"Claw Express!" He cried, trying again with his other hand.

Before he could hit the Evil Ring, however, Andromon stopped it.

With his right forearm.

Fladramon nodded mentally. There was something about it; that hand.

Maybe it was nothing.

Or maybe it was really, really bad.

He had no desire to find out. He could ask this Digimon after he'd freed him, if he really wanted to.

Fladramon pushed closer to the larger Digimon, but he couldn't make Andromon budge an inch, so he was forced to bend his own arms to get closer.

For a moment, the opponent's eyes met.

Fladramon nearly sneered in distaste.

He enjoyed the thrill of the fight.

But the dispassion in Andromon's eyes…it wasn't something he wanted to see in his enemy's eyes. He despised those rings; for that and so much more.

"Flame Shot!" He attacked, coating his body in flames just to distract his opponent. In that brief moment of reflexive action in which Andromon almost pulled his hands away, Fladramon managed to take a step forward. Andromon recovered almost instantaneously, then, tightening his grip on Fladramon's hand and putting his forearm back in the way of the other.

But it was already too late.

Fladramon was now close enough to successfully finish 'Flame Shot.' He cut diagonally upwards with his helmet blade.

Andromon realized his trick at the last second, however, and managed to awkwardly kick Fladramon in the stomach. It was a testament to Andromon's might that even off balance, one of his kicks was enough to throw Fladramon into the air.

It still didn't matter, Fladramon thought, ignoring the pain.

Andromon had fallen into his pace and now he was off balance. Granted, Fladramon was in the air and couldn't do anything about it, but…he didn't need to.

"Holsmon!" He cried.

Holsmon immediately understood.

"Mach Impusle!"

The 'blade' Holsmon released slammed into Andromon before he recovered. The Perfect level Digimon was forced to cross his arms over his neck and endure.

"Digmon; don't hold back!" Fladramon shouted the moment he confirmed a hit. Already, his movement through the air had halted and he stood, hanging above the floor of the tunnel. "Fire Rocket!"

He didn't bother looking at Digmon, such was his trust in his friends. He had his own attack to focus on.

"Big Crack!"

It was a risky move, splitting the floor of the tunnel; risky and _extremely_ dangerous.

But Digmon did it anyway, because he, too, trusted his friend.

They were lucky; nothing happened to the rest of the tunnel when Digmon split the floor.

And they were even luckier when the off-balance Andromon nearly fell in.

Fladramon saw his chance and took it. Like a meteor, he flew through the air and rammed into Andromon, leaving a trail of flames behind him.

Andromon was a Perfect level Digimon.

But even he had his limits.

He began to fall back.

Fladramon didn't let up for a second. He landed on top of his opponent when his back finally met the ground and even as his aura of flames flickered and died, his hands reignited.

"Knuckle Fire! Ora!"

Blow after blow slammed down upon the Perfect Digimon, who could do nothing but protect his ring. Fladramon, experienced in combat in ways his friends couldn't imagine, knew the truth of the situation.

Against such an opponent, if he backed down, he would die. Without a doubt, if he stepped back and let Andromon recover, he would die and, more importantly, he would lose what was important to him. Behind him stood the person he'd waited so long for and so…

He would not step back.

"Enough." Andromon ground out, opening his chest plate. "Gatling Missile!"

Fladramon saw the two missiles only seconds before they were fired, but it didn't take him long to figure out what they meant.

Andromon expected him to dodge. No, Andromon _wanted_ him to dodge. He was in a bad position and he knew it, so he was trying to change things by getting Fladramon off of him.

It was only natural that Fladramon would dodge; it was that or take a higher level attack head on.

But Fladramon didn't dodge. He snuffed out the flames on his hands with a thought and he caught the missiles gently the moment they were fired.

He smiled wryly at Andromon's expression, which not even the Evil Ring could suppress.

"Let's see who can take a bigger asskicking." He said.

His hands re-ignited as soon as the words left his mouth.

**XxXXxX**

The explosion rocked the tunnels, nearly making Hikari trip. Takato managed to catch her, but he was equally startled.

"What the hell…?" He wondered.

"An explosion." Tailmon stated the obvious.

"Yeah, but…that wasn't a Guardromon," He stated with certainty. "Their attacks wouldn't do that much."

Hikari silently agreed with him.

"I suppose it was too much to hope for that the only slaves in this city were the Guardromon, huh?" She said.

"Ahem," Tailmon uttered, drawing their attention.

The moment she had it, she continued.

"I think the two of you are missing the importance of this explosion. If…whoever's over there is causing explosions, it means he's attacking, and if he's attacking, then the most likely explanation is…"

"He's found the others," Hikari finished. "Meaning now's not the time to talk. Right. Let's go."

**XxXXxX**

Fladramon flew through the air back towards his friends. He hit the ground and bounced, skipping over the uneven surface like a thrown stone over the water. He almost impacted with Daisuke, but he managed to retain enough presence of mind to dig his claws into the ground before they collided, protecting his partner.

A moment later, an orange light surrounded him before flying towards Daisuke, leaving V-mon behind.

"V-mon!" The leader of the new Chosen cried, kneeling beside his beaten partner.

V-mon coughed painfully before speaking.

"D-damn…it." He said, gazing into the cloud of smoke that still lingered where Andromon had been. "Daisuke…run."

"Huh?"

The dust suddenly cleared—no, it was blown away! Andromon stood, his armor blackened and his skin burnt, but nonetheless undefeated.

But Daisuke didn't care about that, despite how important it was.

Something about him had already caught his attention.

Andromon's black right hand began to rotate and energy gathered around it.

Daisuke still didn't recognize Andromon, having never met him before. He didn't know what his attacks were.

But even so, he knew better than to stand by and let an unknown and powerful Digimon just attack after it finished beating on their partners.

"Guys!" He shouted.

"Red Sun!"

"Gold Rush!"

But Andromon evaded both attacks by jumping as high as the tunnel allowed. He drew back his hand and Daisuke knew that he and, more importantly, his team, were in great danger.

"Digmon, Holsmon, get them to safety!" Daisuke cried, his thoughts turning immediately to his team.

Iori and Miyako opened their mouths in simultaneous protest, but something, maybe acknowledgement of Daisuke's authority, maybe just a desire to protect their partners, drove the two Digimon to obey the Leader. Digmon grabbed Iori and the two were below ground a moment later. Holsmon picked up Miyako and the two were flying away from Andromon in seconds.

The only ones left before the attacking Digimon were V-mon and Daisuke.

"Spiral Sword!" Andromon said, lashing out with his arm, unleashing a blade of energy.

Daisuke knew, with a certainty he'd seldom felt, that if that attack hit him, he'd die.

But he also knew that the same went for V-mon.

And Daisuke would not abandon his partner.

The boy's forward dive would have earned applause from his coach, had he been there to see it. He hugged V-mon tight to his chest a moment before turning his dive into a roll, just in time to let Andromon's attack go above them.

Daisuke had just enough time to feel relief before the blade curved unnaturally in midair.

For a moment, he feared that it curve back towards him for a finishing blow.

What happened instead was almost worse.

The blade curved up to collide with the ceiling of the tunnel, and the mighty attack was too much for it to withstand. Before the boy's wide eyes, the tunnel collapsed, locking off any hope of retreat.

He turned his head to look back at his enemy, who looked down at him with cold, dispassionate eyes.

Daisuke swallowed.

He was stuck between Andromon and a hard place.

**XxXXxX**

What happened couldn't be blamed on anyone.

It couldn't be blamed on Guilmon, for how could the young Digimon know? After all, ever since the day he had been born, never once had there been a fight that had made him think 'I can't win.' He had never lived within the Digital World as a normal Digimon; he had no grasp of what others would think fundamental. He knew only the will of his Tamer, the ferocity of battle, the thrill of victory, and the rush of power that shortly followed it. Nothing else had ever been of import.

How was he supposed to know that Andromon was a Perfect? How was he to understand what that meant? How was he supposed to know that there was always a bigger fish in the sea when there never had been before?

It was not his fault that when he saw the massive Digimon looming over V-mon his…ally? Friend? He knew not what the word to describe the two of them, since he was, to a limited degree, aware of the plans his Tamer and Father had hatched.

But for the moment, he knew they worked together.

When he saw Daisuke in danger and V-mon defeated, he rushed in.

It was not his fault any more than it was Takato's.

How was the Tamer supposed to know he was running towards a Perfect?

How was it his fault that his partner didn't know that and rushed into the fray?

How could he be blamed for, in that important, decisive moment, freezing at the sight of an enemy that he knew was strong, unsure of what to do?

He stopped only for a second; in any other time, it would have been a wise choice, to stop and think before rushing in.

In this case, it was the difference between stopping his partner and letting him go.

But it was not his fault any more than it was Hikari's or Tailmon's.

How could either of them not have frozen at the sight? At the knowledge that it was Andromon who they would have to fight? How could they not freeze at the knowledge that they would have to fight a Perfect level and one who was their friend?

How could they be blamed for, in that moment of shock, forgetting that they were the only ones around who truly knew who Andromon was or about the power he held?

They too could not be blamed for their reactions.

But blameless or not, an event that could have been avoided still happened.

**XxXXxX**

Andromon's hand began to spin again and this time, Daisuke had nowhere to run.

He knew that.

Worse, Andromon knew it too.

He could see it in the Perfect's eyes; he no longer even thought of this as a battle.

This wasn't even an execution to him; Daisuke no longer even held enough relevance for such a thing.

Daisuke was nothing but a chore now; Andromon could have slipped his death in between taking out the trash and buying the groceries.

"Spiral Sword," Andromon announced, sounding a bit bored.

"Rock Breaker!" Daisuke's savior interjected, saving his life by coming out of nowhere and crashing a claw into Andromon's right hand.

On the bright side, the attacked missed Daisuke, leaving him with his life.

On the down side, he had to quickly scramble to keep it when the right side of the tunnel began collapsing.

"Andromon…" Hikari said, standing a ways behind the Perfect Digimon. Her voice sounded strangely pained.

Takato stood next to her, but didn't say anything. Instead, his expression had shifted into something that looked a lot like terror as he gazed upon the battle Guilmon had started. The smaller Digimon was unleashing blow after blow at the Cyborg, but…

He was faring no better than the Armor Digimon had. Andromon either blocked or ignored each and every blow.

If anything, he just looked…annoyed? He seemed annoyed at Guilmon, but…he kept sneaking glances at Hikari.

Daisuke frowned, worried at that change.

Takato's expression suddenly shifted from fear to incredulous disbelief.

"Daisuke?" He wondered. "Did you come here alone!"

The goggled Chosen started but was quick to reply.

"Wha-? No! I just got separated from the others by this guy-"

Takato cut him off.

"It doesn't matter! This isn't the time! You need to get the hell out of there!" Takato cried. "Guilmon, you too; that guy, he's-"

It was too late.

Andromon had had enough of the pest standing between him and the girl.

With lightning speed, he struck out with his left hand, grabbing Guilmon by the throat. He lifted the suddenly choking Digimon into the air as if he weighed nothing.

And then his right hand began to spin again.

Three human's widened their eyes at the sight, all of them knowing what it meant.

"Guilmon! No!" Takato shouted, as if his plea would change anything.

It didn't.

"Andromon, wait!" Hikari tried, her partner already running across the tunnel, hoping to get there in time.

She wouldn't.

"V-mon!" Daisuke screamed, as if, by some miracle, his partner would find the strength to do something to change things in time.

He couldn't.

"Spiral Sword!" Andromon attack, lashing out at his captured opponent.

And Guilmon…

Screamed.

**XxXXxX**

Takato could have given a number of explanations for what he did next.

He could have said that if Guilmon died, he'd lose the game.

He could have said that, real or not, Guilmon was his creation.

He could have chalked it up to pride, annoyance, anger, or frustration.

He could have passed it off as a sudden reaction to a momentary, phantom pain, which was gone even faster than it came; so fast that he couldn't even tell if it had been real or not.

And maybe, just maybe, he really did think of Guilmon as his friend.

Maybe some of these reasons were true. Maybe some of them were not.

It didn't matter; regardless of his reasons, his actions remained the same.

"Takato!" Hikari yelled out.

In what, he did not know. Warning? Fear? Surprise?

But that, too, didn't matter.

The Tamer ran towards his partner, one hand reaching into his pocket for his Digivice and the other going for his Evolution card. He didn't even have to look for it; he didn't carry around any of his other cards.

After all, if something happened, having all of those would be suspicious.

But he always carried the Evolution card, for one simple reason; if something ever happened, something like _this_, he would be able to evolve his partner.

He kept some things in mind at all times, however; that evolving Growmon could easily blow his cover. That having a supposed 'Perfect' level would draw suspicion and might ruin his plans. That using Evolution was a last resort.

But at that moment, he didn't care. He stood right in front of Andromon, planting his feet between the Digimon and his partner. He glared up at him with anger burning in his red eyes.

The only reason he hadn't evolved yet was because he was worried about the effects it might have on his partner.

He cast a quick glance at Guilmon, but returned his gaze to his enemy almost immediately, not so much because was worried about his opponent—though he certainly was—but rather because he couldn't bear to look at his partner.

Guilmon was strong.

For a Child Digimon, he was monstrously powerful.

He had disguised his partners strength by calling him an Adult—pretending to everyone that he was an entire level higher than he actually was—and if anyone had noticed something that gave them cause to not believe that, they hadn't shown it.

But even so, there was a difference between a very strong Child like Guilmon and a Perfect like Andromon.

Andromon's Spiral Sword had nearly cut Guilmon in half.

It was weird to look at; Guilmon had nothing like organs or blood. As such, it was hard to describe his wound; it was a parting of flesh, but not the flesh of a human or anything organic. There were no entrails revealed by the wound that stretched from his left shoulder to the right of his waist. The closest similarity it had to a normal injury was the fact that there was something coming out of both wounds, but Guilmon's data could never be mistaken for blood.

It shouldn't have been as bad as looking at a human with the same wound.

And maybe it wasn't; Takato wouldn't know.

But he knew that watching those particles of data slowly trying to rip themselves from Guilmon's body hurt more than anything else he could remember.

His grip tightened around his Digivice and he wanted so badly to slash the card that would end Andromon's life.

But he knew he shouldn't.

In Guilmon's condition, he had no guarantee that becoming Growmon wouldn't end Guilmon's life as well. And even if it didn't, how could he know whether or not he'd be able to fight Andromon?

In his state, Andromon might…

He glanced around quickly.

Was there any way to avoid this fight?

V-mon was no help; he was obviously pretty beaten. Tailmon was still in okay condition, but Takato dismissed her almost immediately. If Guilmon couldn't do it, then what hope did she have?

Unless she could use her small size and speed to-

No, that was too risky.

Takato had already seen it, hadn't he?

The power of Andromon's attacks…

If he couldn't hit Tailmon—if he attacked and missed—then…

Would this tunnel survive?

More importantly, would he and Guilmon survive?

The Digimon were of no use here and he didn't even know where the other Chosen were. And it's not like their partners would be of any help-

Wait.

Takato looked back at Andromon, who wasn't even looking at him.

He had eyes only for the others.

Why…?

Something clicked.

His eyes darted from Andromon to Hikari.

Could he be…? Could he remember Hikari, even through the Ring? How…?

It didn't matter, Takato thought, cutting off that train of thought.

The 'how' of it didn't matter, at least not to him.

What mattered was one thing and one thing only.

Andromon was more interested in Hikari than he was in Guilmon or Takato himself. Whether it was because Hikari was the only one left with a partner capable of fighting or if he really did remember something didn't matter.

Only one thing did.

If Hikari ran, would Andromon chase her?

**XxXXxX**


	11. Chapter 10: Changing Point Part II

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Ten: Changing Point**

**Part Two**

**XxXXxX**

"Hikari!" Takato suddenly shouted at her. "He's after you! Get out of here!"

Hikari confirmed with a glance that what he was saying was true; both of Andromon's red eyes were focused on her.

Beside her, Tailmon tensed. It was only the knowledge that if a fight started, she'd probably lose that allowed her to swallow the hiss the tried to force its way from her throat.

Hikari became suddenly, frighteningly aware that she was far below ground and that Tailmon was now the only one still able to fight.

But, at the same time…

Tailmon was the only one able to fight.

"B-but, Takato…! Guilmon is…!" Hikari tried to put it into words.

That she wouldn't leave her friends behind while they fought to keep her safe for just a little longer, even though they knew they'd lose, like everyone had against Piemon.

That she wouldn't stand by, helpless, while someone died like Wizarmon had.

She wanted to. She _tried_ too. But the sight of Guilmon there on the ground stole the words from her.

But even so, Takato still understood.

"Hikari, this is not the time! He's after you! If he catches you, it'll probably be bad for you. If he stays here, it'll probably be bad for the rest of us! So, no offense, but I think everyone involved would be better off if you _ran like your life depends on it_!"

Hikari's resolve wavered; at his words and at the fact that Andromon had begun to slowly approach as a result of them.

"I-I…" She stuttered, unsure.

"Daisuke!" Takato suddenly shouted.

The leader of the new Chosen didn't need an explanation to understand. He grabbed Hikari's hand and pulled her into a run.

Andromon followed.

Neither group noticed the look Takato sent at Andromon's back.

**XxXXxX**

Takato glared as if he could push all his anger out at Andromon. If he could, he would have smote him on the spot.

Sadly, he couldn't do that.

Anger gave way to helplessness as he looked down at his partner.

He put a hand on his partner's chest.

"Guilmon…"

When had he become this attached to something that wasn't real. Did he really spend that much time playing this game?

Takato took his Digivice from his pocket and looked at silently. He ran his thumb across its side absently, before taking out his Evolution card as well.

Just in case, he told himself, knowing that, even if Andromon was gone, he couldn't claim to be safe as long as he was still in this city.

He frowned at that thought, lifting his Digivice and bringing up the radar function.

Lips pulled away from teeth as he turned around, lifting his Card. He didn't want to force Guilmon to evolve, but if an enemy Digimon showed up…

Well, he might not have a choice.

"Come out; I know you're there." Takato said flatly. He didn't waste his time with brags or threats; it was clear for all to see that his partner was down. Nobody would have any idea what the card in his hand meant and he still wasn't sure what slashing it would do to his partner.

All that he had was the protectiveness of a friend and parent, but he didn't even have the power to make it meaningful.

Even now, he had to rely on Guilmon.

He was angry; at Andromon, at the situation, at himself. Angry and ready for a fight he wasn't even sure he could win.

So he was surprised when Raremon peaked around the corner, blinking awkwardly positioned eyes thoughtlessly.

Takato stared. The 'stench' he could not smell drew a reaction from Guilmon, causing him to groan and roll one eye open.

His Digivice activated.

_Raremon, Adult Virus. An Undead Digimon whose muscles have all rotted away. It tried to extend its life by mechanizing its body, but it destabilized it in the process, and the data composing it began to break down. However, because it was given life by those machines, it will not die, and so it survives with a grotesque appearance. Because its body has broken down, its offensive power and mental capacity are nonexistent, and it acts on instinct. It gives off a foul stench from its entire body, so that Digimon up to the Child-level will simply run away, and will not be its opponent until they reach the Adult-level._

Takato read the data, but otherwise didn't move. He wasn't sure what to make of the data, but he kept his card in hand just in case.

Raremon didn't do anything; it simply continued to stare at him like he was something strange.

A minute passed.

Two.

More.

Nothing happened.

Frowning, Takato forced himself to relax.

Raremon didn't have an Evil Ring and it hadn't acted with hostility yet.

"Do you need something Raremon?" He asked.

Raremon began moving closer and Takato tensed again. The Digimon stopped and didn't continue until Takato relaxed again. This time Takato forced himself to stay relaxed, even while pondering whether or not this was a trap.

If so, it wasn't a very good one. Stand still until the target was relaxed and then step forward and repeat?

But them, if the data was accurate…

And it was working, Takato told himself, if it was a trap. He slowly moved the card towards his Digivice, but didn't slash it just yet.

Trap or not, he was curious as to what this Digimon intended to do.

Why was he even here in the first place? Had he followed them here? Why?

He was a character Lucemon had put into this game, so he must have a purpose to being here. If he was an enemy, which he didn't seem to be as of yet, it might make sense for him to follow them here to attack them, but not in context. They were fighting the Kaiser and his army of slaves; why would the Digimon suddenly attack them?

But if not as an enemy, why was he here?

_Because its body has broken down, its offensive power and mental capacity are nonexistent, and it acts on instinct._

That's what it had said. What purpose could something like that serve? He couldn't be a source of information, he probably wasn't a secret boss, being an enemy wouldn't make sense, and he probably wasn't here to give him a quest.

So why?

Raremon finally loomed over Guilmon and Takato looked at him as the moment of truth arrived. If anything happened, he would slash his card, even if Guilmon was injured.

But again, Raremon did nothing. He simply looked down at the wounded Child and stared.

Minutes passed again and Takato began to wonder if Raremon understood was he was seeing.

"He's injured," Takato said bluntly. "He was hurt badly in a fight."

Raremon looked at him.

"Alone…?" Raremon asked in a warped voice that seemed like it hadn't been used in a long time.

Takato blinked in surprise at the fact that Raremon could speak and it took him a moment to understand the question.

"She left," He said.

"Left…you…?" The Adult stated more than asked.

Well, it was pretty obvious she wasn't here.

Takato shrugged but didn't say anything.

Raremon looked back down at Guilmon before turning to Takato again. He smiled a very strange smile, full of uneven teeth.

"Like me." He said, as if he was a Doctor stating their condition.

Takato didn't understand but he smiled anyway.

"Perhaps," He said.

Raremon lifted a rotting, clawed hand and pointed at himself.

"Fix?" He suggested.

Takato tilted his head to the side in confusion, so Raremon tapped a claw to one of the metal plates around his eyes.

"Fix?" He repeated.

_It tried to extend its life by mechanizing its body…_

Ah.

Takato understood.

He smiled at Raremon.

"I don't think that's possible. I don't know much about machines." He told him.

Raremon pointed at himself again.

"You do?" Takato asked, surprised.

Well, the Digivice did say he tried to fix himself…

Raremon nodded. Something feel to the ground, sliding off his face, but Takato ignored it.

He pondered the offer before shaking his head.

"I need to extend his life." Takato said. "But it's a bit urgent. I don't think I have enough time to gather parts."

Though, he didn't actually know if Guilmon would die from the wound he had. He wasn't a doctor, much less one that knew about Digimon. But if Piyomon had survived Growmon, he wouldn't be surprised if Guilmon survived Andromon.

Raremon looked sad.

Maybe he was disappointed he couldn't be of any help.

Or maybe he was sad that there wouldn't be anyone like him after all.

Takato wondered whether it got lonely in these tunnels.

A thought struck him.

Not a source of information, not a secret boss, not an enemy, and not a quest.

Then what was he?

A new character, perhaps?

Was he put here to save Guilmon? But that would require Lucemon to know that Guilmon would get struck down…

But then, this was a game. Lucemon could have made it so that Guilmon charged in and was struck down. Maybe that was what cut scenes looked like in this game?

But how would Raremon help Guilmon? Takato's points were valid; he might not have time to get parts-

_It tried to extend its life by mechanizing its body…_

_However, because it was given life by those machines, it will not die…_

Takato blinked at the thought, but then smiled.

"Raremon, do you know if there are still any Guardromon down here?"

**XxXXxX**

Hikari lifted herself out of the sewer, Tailmon scurrying out after her. She turned around to help pull Daisuke, who was having a bit of trouble climbing while carrying V-mon.

"Come on!" She said urgently.

Daisuke fell into a run beside her seamlessly, not hesitating to hurry even if he wasn't sure why he was doing so.

"What's the rush? There's no way he can get out of a hole that small."

"He doesn't need to!"

"Wha…!" Daisuke was interrupted when the ground started shaking roughly.

He wanted to look back and see what was going on, but knew that would be stupid.

That's what those dumb teenagers in horror movies did and they always died.

Instead, he consulted logic, which said that the world hated him today, which implied that Andromon could rip his way to the surface.

"Ah." Daisuke swallowed. "Damn; that guy's a monster."

"He's a Perfect level." Hikari said, as if in agreement.

Daisuke stared at her for a moment and nearly fell a step behind because of it.

"A what?" He asked, catching up.

This time it was Hikari looked at him.

"How do you not know this?" She wondered.

Daisuke felt his face flush in embarrassment and her eyes quickly widened as a result.

"Ah, no; I'm not insulting you. You had no way of knowing; my brother said he and the others didn't know either, for a long time. But one of them really should have explained things to you." She said. "It's like this; Digimon can be divided into levels. Baby's, like Chibimon, Child's, like V-mon, and Adult's, like Tailmon."

Daisuke nodded, knowing that already, when another explosion echoed behind them.

Hikari continued as if it hadn't happened.

"But above those levels, there are more. Above Adult, there are the Perfect's, like Andromon. And above Perfect's, there are Ultimates."

"Perfects and Ultimates?" Daisuke wondered, frowning. "And…how strong is a Perfect?"

"It varies." She said. "Angewomon was very powerful, even for a Perfect, and HolyAngemon was stronger than Piemon!"

Who, who, and who? Daisuke wanted to ask, but kept silent.

It was not Angewomon, HolyAngemon, or Piemon, whoever _they_ might be, that was chasing him right now, nor were they the ones currently trying to kill him. As a result, he really didn't care who they were.

"On the other hand," Hikari continued. "Mimi claims that Palmon defeated Monzaemon the first time she evolved, but I wasn't there. Andromon, though…"

Hikari bit her lip.

"The difference between an Adult and Andromon is like the difference between a Child and an Adult."

Daisuke winced, having been afraid of that. He'd certainly been winning down there in the tunnels, even when it was three against one.

And Guilmon.

That brought Daisuke to another issue. They'd run away shortly after, but he'd have had to been blind not to see.

Guilmon had almost been killed.

"Hikari." He said. "We have to end this quickly. Guilmon is…hurt. And that means Takato's defenseless. I don't even know where Miyako and Iori are now, but…"

He didn't get to finish this time, because the loudest explosion yet cut him off. A moment later, he heard the sound of someone running towards them, along with the echoes of steel footsteps.

"And we can't beat Andromon!" Daisuke finished, suddenly finding the strength to run like his life depended on it.

It was probably caused by the fact that it was.

Hikari struggled to keep up, but she was frowning.

"That's weird…"

"What?" Daisuke asked, even though he was already dreading the answer. By now, he was trained to expect bad news.

He received it.

"…I'm just surprised it took Andromon that long to reach the surface. I would have expected him to blow his way out with one attack." She admitted.

And then they heard it. As if in response to her words, a sound that had been like background noise before began to get louder.

Maybe it was because they were so used to the sound by now.

Maybe it was because they'd been distracted by Andromon.

Either way, they'd made a mistake.

Hikari and Daisuke slide to a stop as they came into sight.

The army of Guardromon continued its approach.

**XxXXxX**

Miyako climbed out of the sewer after Hawkmon and immediately reached for her Digivice. A flash of light later and she was riding Holsmon again.

"We have to find the others." She said immediately.

Holsmon nodded wordlessly and took to the air.

Miyako looked at her Digivice, already searching for her friend's locations.

Iori would have to wait, she decided immediately, even if the Digivice said he was nearby. Knowing him, he was probably still with Digmon, underground. Miyako wanted to follow after the youngest Chosen, but knew he was taking paths she couldn't follow. He was moving away from her, anyway, and since his Digivice had no doubt told him that she was here, he probably had something else in mind.

She found Takeru next, first with her Digivice and, moments later, with her eyes. He was being chased by a few Guardromon.

"Holsmon?" She asked.

"Red Sun!" The flashes of red light freed a trio of Digimon, allowing Pegasmon to get enough space between him and his attackers to properly attack.

"Shooting Star!"

Pegasmon's attack cleared away the remaining Guardromon and a moment later the Armor Digimon was swooping through the air and pulling up next to her.

"Thanks," Takeru said.

Miyako nodded to show she'd heard, but even though she knew it would come off as rude, her attention was focused on her Digivice.

Takeru noticed and frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Things went wrong in the sewers." She said. "We met a really powerful Digimon and we got separated."

"Then Takato and Hikari—" Takeru began, eyes widening.

Miyako cut him off before he could continue.

"Daisuke is with Hikari." She said pointing a distance away. "They might be below ground, or maybe they found a way up like I did; I don't know. But both of them are on the move, which means they're still alive at least. That's the good news."

Takeru frowned at her, before taking out his own Digivice.

It didn't take him long to understand.

"Takato…" He said, seeing the unmoving signal.

"He could just be trapped," Miyako began. "Or in a safe place. Or he could be injured and unable to move. I don't know, but…we should probably find him soon. Unfortunately, like I said, we got split up in the battle and Iori hasn't surfaced yet. Without him, the only way for us to get to Takato is to use the actual tunnels, which…"

"We don't know how to navigate." Takeru finished, exhaling slowly. "What is Iori doing?"

Miyako blinked, but not at his question.

"Is that…?"

A new signal had come onto the screen of her Digivice.

"One of the others…?" She wondered.

Takeru's expression brightened in understanding.

"It's gotta be Taichi." He said. "He told Daisuke that he was going to contact the others and then get Agumon. He had to reorganize the frontlines so that Greymon's absence wouldn't open up a weak point, but if he finished that then he'd come here as quickly as possible."

Miyako frowned.

"But Agumon can't evolve with the Dark Tower still here." Miyako said. "With the city flooded with Guardromon, he'd be in a lot of danger."

"He'd come anyway." Takeru assured her. "For Hikari, he'd come even without Agumon."

"Then…" Miyako thought. "Iori must have realized that and headed for him. Since Agumon can't evolve, he'd need _someone_ to get them here safely."

She didn't suggest making him turn back, knowing it would be pointless.

Takeru nodded.

"In that case, our best bet is to find Hikari and Daisuke and see if we can back track our way to them." Takeru said. "Or else, wait for Iori to return with Taichi. Either way, we should find Hikari and Daisuke and ask them about Takato. Do you know which Digimon you fought?"

Miyako shook her head.

"I didn't recognize him."

"Describe him." Takeru pressed.

"He was, um…a robot, sort of. He was incomplete. Most of his body was covered in metal and he had a skull shaped mask thing, but you could see parts of his face and one arm and leg. They looked…well, not human, but…like flesh?" She paused, thoughtful. "Which would make him, uh…a cyborg? That was the one that was part flesh and part machine, right?"

She frowned.

"Or was that an Android?"

Takeru was barely listening anymore.

"Miyako!" He nearly shouted. "Did you see him attack?"

Miyako blinked, but answered quickly at the urgency in his voice.

"Yeah; one attack opened his chest and the other made one of his hands spin." She closed her eyes and tried to remember the names; she'd been a bit busy both times. "They were called…"

"Spiral Sword and Gatling Missile?" Takeru offered, a bit afraid of the answer.

Miyako's eyes snapped opened.

"Yeah! That's it exactly, but how did you—"

"Damn it!" Takeru cursed. "Miyako, follow me! Pegasmon, let's go!"

**XxXXxX**

Takato didn't feel safe leaving Guilmon alone and he couldn't very well move him.

That left him in a bit of a bind, however.

To heal Guilmon, Takato needed some Guardromon, of which there were none here. That meant he had to go find some, but he couldn't leave Guilmon by himself in the state he was in. And without Guilmon, he was a normal human; what would he do, even if he found some Guardromon?

He was forced to put his faith in Raremon.

The Adult Digimon had left some minutes ago and had yet to return, so Takato was left with his thoughts.

He'd worried about Guilmon briefly, but he'd stopped shortly after he began. Either Raremon would return with 'food' for Guilmon or he wouldn't; either way, there was nothing he could do about it.

So instead, he'd turned his thoughts to Raremon.

"What to do with you?" He murmured.

He could obey orders…apparently. He'd have to see if he came back. But, well…

He wasn't what Takato had expected.

But, Takato thought to himself, what had he expected?

It would have been nice if, say, Omegamon had decided to serve him, but that wasn't going to happen and Takato knew it. None of the extremely powerful Digimon were likely to serve him, because of game balance. He'd never even thought of them doing so, outside of fantasies.

But he had been expecting someone…cool, maybe? Cool like…he didn't know, but…like one of the Chosen's partner's. Someone who, while not the strongest, could become extremely powerful.

But had that been likely, either?

Takato frowned to himself.

It would have been cool, but they were all taken. Moreover, wouldn't it mess up the game if he had servants that could become Omegamon or something?

Yes, Takato thought, maybe that's it.

This game…he was the main character, right? Then…the game had to be focused on him. He couldn't be a side character in his own story.

Then…

None of his Servants could eclipse him, maybe? He couldn't have someone so amazing or cool that he was shuffled to the sidelines.

Is…that what Lucemon was thinking?

He scratched the back of his head before balling it into a fist and resting his check on it.

He thought for a moment and then he sighed.

Then again, if it was that guy, it was just as likely that he didn't want him to have anyone 'cool' on his side. If he wanted useful Servants, he'd probably have to train them to level 20.

A beep from his Digivice alerted him to someone's approach, making him lift his head.

Raremon…oozed outside the collapsed tunnel. He was to big to fit inside, Takato thought, but then shook his head. He'd gotten in before, hadn't he?

Raremon moved forward, squirming in its semisolid way and forcing his way through the doorway, even though it was so small.

It looked disgusting, but Takato smiled at the sight.

Raremon dragged two deactivated Guardromon in after him.

Now was the moment of truth, Takato thought, standing.

"Raremon," He greeted. "I see you brought some Guardromon with. Good job."

He was stating the obvious, but he praised the creature anyway. Raremon smiled his jagged-toothed grin in response.

Takato took a breath and spoke.

"Delete them." He said.

He'd thought about it while Raremon was gone; he needed someone to delete the Guardromon so Guilmon could eat them. Naturally, that someone had to be Raremon, but would he do it?

He'd thought of ways to make it not seem so bad; stuff like 'I need to do it to save my partner' and 'think of it as gathering parts.'

And while those things may have been true and Raremon would probably have understood them, in the end, it didn't change the core of the issue.

The Guardromon needed to die and Raremon needed to kill them.

If this didn't happen, if Raremon wasn't willing to kill them, to kill for _him_, than nothing else mattered.

Raremon blinked at him once. Twice.

And then he turned to the Guardromon and vomited out a batch of acid.

Takato smiled.

"Guilmon." He said, waking his partner, who'd dozed off to conserve energy. "Load them."

**XxXXxX**

Guilmon was back on his feet in minutes, though he didn't look very energetic.

Takato laid a hand on his partner's head and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Guilmon leaned into his touch but didn't answer his silent question so Takato let it go.

It probably just took a lot of energy to heal that gaping chest wound.

It had been interesting to watch, honestly, if just in a morbidly curious way. The data had gathered around the wound and slowly mended it, stitching it back together before his eyes. It hadn't even left a scar behind.

But then, Takato had never seen a Digimon that was scarred by combat, rather than as a result of their natural form, so maybe he shouldn't have been surprised.

He patted his partner on the head lightly before striding towards Raremon.

"Thank you," He said without preamble. "Without your help, Guilmon would still be injured and he'd be in a lot of danger."

Takato glanced over his shoulder and raised his eyebrow at his partner again.

Guilmon lifted a hand and waved weakly, but it seemed to be a result of exhaustion rather than hesitance.

"Thank you, Raremon." He said, putting as much enthusiasm as he could into it.

He seemed to be over his issues with Raremon's smell.

Takato smiled at his partner and nodded before turning back to Raremon.

"He's still a bit tired, but otherwise, he's good as new." He said brightly. "We owe you a lot."

Takato was about to continue but he hesitated. He closed his mouth, pursed his lips, and looked to the side, trying to find the right words.

He looked back to see that Raremon was tilting his head at him.

He decided to just roll with it.

"Raremon…how would you like to join us?" He asked.

Raremon blinked, not sure what he meant.

"I mean…do you like living here?" He gestured at the tunnel walls. "It seems to me like this must be a lonely place. Do you have any friends?"

Raremon hesitated, but slowly pointed at him.

Takato gestured dismissively.

"Besides me and Guilmon."

The Adult Digimon slowly shook his head.

Takato nodded, having guessed that, since he lived in a sewer and, apparently, smelt.

"Do the Digimon up there," He nodded towards the ceiling of the tunnel. "Know about you? Do they treat you kindly?"

Takato was willing to bet the answer was no, since Raremon hadn't had any issues killing those Guardromon.

Sure enough, he shook his head.

"Then…come with us." The Tamer said. "Leave this place behind and work for me. We can continue to be friends and…"

Takato honestly wasn't sure what to say.

He didn't have to.

"Okay." Raremon said suddenly, making Takato blink.

Then, he smiled.

"Okay," He agreed. "You won't regret it. In fact…"

Takato lifted his Digivice and card.

"I'll show you how strong we are! Guilmon, you're tired right! Then you can eat every Guardromon down here! We need to celebrate, so…we'll destroy this entire city, today! Even if we have to wait until the others leave…"

He slid the card through the reader.

"Let's burn this city down! We'll show you, Raremon…that you should be proud! You've sided with the future King of this World! Evolution, Activate!"

"Guilmon, shinka!"

**XxXXxX**

Daisuke slide his eyes across the scene.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place; Guardromon on one side, Andromon on the other.

Not good odds.

"Hikari." He said. "You and Tailmon make a break for the Guardromon. Tailmon should be able to make an opening, right? Rush straight through it and don't look back."

Hikari understood.

Daisuke was going to make a last stand to give her time to run.

"No." She rejected immediately.

"V-mon and I will be fine." He assured her. "You don't have to worry about us. Isn't that right…V-mon?"

The Digimon in his arms began to stir and an eyelid rolled open tiredly.

V-mon smiled.

"Of course. I was just resting my eyes for a little bit. I've got Andromon if you've got my back."

Daisuke gently tapped his knuckles against V-mon's and looked at Hikari.

"Go."

Hikari looked Daisuke in the eye.

It was plainly obvious that he was lying; V-mon was in no condition to evolve.

It was just as obvious that they'd fight Andromon anyway.

It was unlikely that Tailmon would be able to break through an entire army before Andromon defeated them, but there was a chance.

And they would fight for that chance.

They would probably die in the process, though.

So Hikari spoke and she said:

"No."

Daisuke sighed softly.

"Hikari, now really isn't the time to argue."

"Then stop arguing." She hissed quietly. "You said that the others came with you right? That means there are three of us unaccounted for. And guess what? Takeru and Miyako could fly us out and Iori could dig us to safety, so you can't say there's nothing they can do. We just need to hold on for awhile."

"I was with you until the hold on for awhile part." Daisuke said, passing her his Digivice.

Hikari looked at it in confusion until she saw the screen.

She had to keep her spirits from dropping.

Takato was on the move, which was good, but he was moving slowly and away from them. Considering what had happened to Guilmon, it was probably for the best.

He wasn't the one that drew Hikari's attention.

Iori was moving away from them, towards the edge of the city and though Miyako and Takeru were together and heading towards them, they were quite a distance away.

If a fight broke out, they might not be able to make it in time.

But Hikari wasn't willing to give up just yet.

"Andromon." She said, striding forward.

"Hikari!" Daisuke hissed immediately, reaching out to drag her back, but she ducked under his grasp.

"Andromon, don't you remember me?" She continued as if nothing had happened.

Daisuke cursed behind her but didn't try to pull her away again. Instead, he pressed close, ready to react if something went wrong, as he expected it would, but let her talk. He did not question her. He did not say it was impossible. He just stood close to her side like a worried friend.

She silently thanked him.

Andromon just stared back at the duo with blank eyes. He showed no sign of having been affected by the words.

But then, he hadn't attacked yet, either.

The same could not be said of the Guardromon.

"Warning Laser!" A group of Guardromon shouted in unison, breaking the silence.

They tried to catch the Chosen in the crossfire and kill them both.

It nearly worked.

Luckily, Daisuke had come to expect things like this.

"Get down!" Daisuke said, tackling his friend to the ground. An attack grazed his arm, drawing a hiss.

But he ignored the pain and focused on Hikari.

"Hikari…" He began, staring into the eyes of the girl beneath him. "Do you really believe you can reach Andromon?"

Hikari said nothing, eyes focused on her friend's wound.

But she gave a slight nod and that was enough.

"I'll buy you some time." He said seriously, pushing himself to his feet with his good arm. "V-mon, can you evolve?"

V-mon wasn't in the best condition. He'd taken a Perfect level blast straight to the face not too long ago, after all, and now he needed to fight an army of Guardromon?

Sounds like fun, he thought.

"Sure thing." He answered.

"Daisuke, wait!" Hikari immediately said, clamoring to her feet.

"Hikari." He said, stopping her. "Trust me. I got this."

Hikari closed her mouth slowly and nodded, stepped towards Andromon.

"Ready?" Daisuke asked.

"Born that way." V-mon confirmed.

"Digimental Up!"

A bright light emerged from a D-Terminal.

But it wasn't Daisuke's.

"V-mon, Armor shinka!"

The white light fell upon him.

The creature that emerged was not Fladramon.

"Gargomon!" The new Digimon said, spreading its white wings.

**XxXXxX**

It made things simpler, Takato thought. Being alone, that is.

Just working alone was certainly easier than working with a team.

He didn't have to hide anything.

He didn't have to answer to anybody.

He could stroll through an area and just burn it down.

However, Takato was forced to admit that being easier doesn't make it better.

Andromon had proven that pretty thoroughly.

The original plan had been to side with the Chosen to weaken the Kaiser, on the premise that he could not—or, at least, that it would be very hard to—do it alone.

But then he'd basically steamrolled over everything and everyone that had been stupid enough to get in his way. The Kaiser had managed to run from him, but only by doing just that; running.

He'd gone along with the plan out of amusement more than anything else, he supposed. Because hanging out with the Chosen and beating the Kaiser even with a handicap had been fun.

But the introduction of a Perfect level opponent had changed all that.

He could no longer think to himself, 'the plan isn't necessary.'

If the Kaiser had Perfect level Digimon on his side, he was a massive threat. Growmon might be able to beat a Perfect in one-on-one combat, but if there were multiple Perfects…

He needed help. This incident, if nothing else, had taught him that it was important to rely on others.

But as easy as it was to say, it was difficult for him to do that, because it was hard to rely on the Chosen. He was going to betray them, after all, and if they ever learnt of what he'd done—what he was _going_ to do—they'd hang him out to dry.

Or he'd kill them.

One or the other.

Either way would end badly for him, though; it was hard to rely on them completely, but he still _needed_ help.

But Raremon had opened up a doorway to many new possibilities.

The problem with the Chosen was that he could not trust them completely.

_But the Chosen weren't the only options anymore._

If it was possible to recruit other Digimon, then…

He could have followers that were loyal to him and who wouldn't abandon him, despite his actions.

Not only would that be convenient, but it would help greatly against his enemies.

His plan, if it worked, would leave the Chosen and the Kaiser weak, allowing him to crush them. But weakened or not, they both outnumbered him.

They might even outgun him, working together.

But he could _change_ that now.

However, to do that, he needed to choose his allies wisely.

They needed to be loyal to him; that was important. They needed to be able to keep his secrets, too. And they needed to be useful.

In that respect, Raremon was good companion. Loyal, quiet, and obedient.

"Plasma Blade!" Growmon interrupted his thoughts, his electromagnetic blade sheering through a Guardromon's body like a knife through butter. The Digimon exploded into data a moment later.

Growmon loaded it, even as he sniffed the air for more food—that is, enemies.

Takato tilted his head to side and chuckled.

Who was he kidding? He meant food.

Takato smiled. He'd decided he really liked Guardromon; the deactivated one's didn't response even when being cut down. It was like a free lunch.

A bit boring, but there would be plenty of excitement on the surface.

But that could wait until they'd cleared the tunnels.

He glanced over his shoulder at Raremon.

"Having fun?" He asked. Raremon had chosen to stay by him while Growmon was playing. He couldn't load data, so rampaging through these tunnels held not benefit for him.

He'd have to talk to Lucemon about that.

Raremon just continued watching Growmon like he was some strange specimen he just couldn't understand.

Maybe it was his ability to load data, which Raremon had yet to comment on.

Maybe it was his uniqueness.

At his question, Raremon's eyes flicked towards Takato in a gesture of acknowledgement—though of what, he wasn't sure—and then went back to observing.

Takato looked at him for a moment and shrugged, turning back to his partner as well.

It may have been playing for Growmon, but this was important. He needed to load every Digimon he could find, in preparation of what was to come.

This city was too dangerous.

It didn't matter who owned it; whether it was kept under the Kaiser's control or freed by the Chosen, it was too dangerous.

This place was full of Adult Digimon and even had a Perfect in it. In the hands of the Kaiser, it was an enormous threat to the Chosen—and, more importantly, to him—as they were limited to forms that were equal to Adult level. The Guardromon outnumbered them and Andromon outgunned them.

But…

It wasn't any better if it was in the Chosen's hands. If the Kaiser had Perfect level Digimon on his side and the Chosen kept freeing them, then it was almost inevitable that the Chosen would start getting Perfect level allies, and guys like that would quickly turn the war in the Chosen's favor, allowing them to crush the Kaiser much more quickly.

But after the Kaiser was gone, he was the next enemy. He'd have to fight the Chosen eventually, if they won.

He'd rather not do it when they had a hoard of Perfects on their side, though.

He had to do something about Andromon and, to a lesser extent, the Guardromon. He didn't see any conceivable way to keep them from joining the fight against the Kaiser after the Chosen freed them, either.

No ways that were practical, at least.

But he still needed to deal with them.

He had an answer to that problem though.

He hadn't been overdramatic when he'd talked to Raremon earlier.

Andromon and this city would die today.

He just had to prepare for the fight.

He glanced at his Digivice.

"There are more down that way, Growmon." He said, nodding his head towards the tunnel in question.

You can have an appetizer before the main course, he thought, following his already moving partner.

Just don't spoil your appetite.

There's a lot more for you to eat.

**XxXXxX**

Hikari slowly opened her eyes. She'd shut them reflexively at the sudden explosion of light.

The first thing she saw was a Digimon she'd never seen before.

No, she thought, that wasn't right.

That was V-mon.

She didn't know how or why, but—

That was V-mon.

He'd Armor evolved, but not with Daisuke's Digimental of Courage.

He'd done it with _her_ Digimental.

The one she couldn't use.

The Digimental of Light.

His body was thin, now, and white but for his blue claws and tail. Belts were wrapped tightly around him; they bound his forearms and upper arms tightly enough that his muscles strained against them with each movement. They bound his thighs, too, and his chest; for the latter, there were so many belts and they were pulled so tight, she worried for a moment if he could breathe. The belts around his neck did nothing to ease her worries. She wondered if he was blind, since other belts covered his eyes, but Angewomon and Angemon had their eyes covered as well. On his shoulders, he wore a pair of black protective pads, and behind him spread a pair of white angelic wings.

Daisuke stood behind his partner and looked at him in awe.

"Holy…V-mon, this is awesome! How did you—"

Gargomon lashed out with one hand, straight at Daisuke's face.

The claws stopped inches away from his face.

Daisuke didn't even flinch. The only change was the joy and awe from the new evolution had fade from his face, along with his smile. He looked up at his partner with eyes that were now uncertain.

But he didn't step back, proving why he was the new Chosen of Courage.

"V-mon?" He questioned. He felt nothing but concern. Even if he was in a new form, he refused to fear his friend. "What's wrong?"

Gargomon's arm trembled, as if he was trying to move it forward, but something was stopping him. Maybe it was the belts, serving their purpose. Or maybe, it was simply V-mon's refusal to harm his partner.

Gargomon was a Demon Beast Digimon; to lash out was in his nature. To hurt and cause suffering; that is the nature of Gargomon.

But nature isn't everything.

The belts that bound him glowed softly, then, and calmed the Demon's mind.

"Nothing." Gargomon said, his mouth straining against the same belt that blinded him each time he opened his mouth.

He paused.

"Sorry." He added, embarrassed and ashamed of the momentary lose of control. "You should get back…I don't know how long I can…"

Daisuke looked him silently and nodded slowly.

"I'll be right over there if you need me." He said, turning his back to his partner.

It was a gesture of trust. Daisuke wasn't sure what was happening to his partner or why he nearly lost control.

But it didn't matter.

Gargomon's claws had lashed out towards his face.

But they didn't touch him.

It didn't matter that he _nearly_ lost control.

All that mattered was that he didn't.

Gargomon watched him go in forced, careful restraint.

His attention turned to the Guardromon. They were standing in still silence, just like Andromon. He was a new variable and they weren't sure how to respond. The Kaiser, if he was watching, was probably feeling the same way.

He wasn't sure how to react to that; that so many people had seen him almost murder—for had he not stopped, that blow _would_ have killed Daisuke—his partner.

The thought was sickening, but…it made some dark feeling rise up within him. It urged him to act; to…lash out and kill and burn down what stood in his way. It said he could drown that feeling, given enough blood.

It was disgusting, that voice.

And it was powerful.

He wasn't sure he could keep it contained.

He wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to keep it contained.

All he had to do was—

The belts glowed again, but this time, it was a harsher light; like a metal pole taken out of a fire.

He whimpered.

He needed to stop. This form…it was hurting him. It felt…wrong.

Was this because he was using a Digimental that wasn't Daisuke's?

He needed to end this. Quickly.

He spread his white wings. The Guardromon took it as a signal to attack, as if the gesture reassured them that he was their enemy.

"Destruction Grenade!" They said in mechanical synchronization.

A small swarm of missiles flew towards him.

He snorted out a breath.

"White Statue!" Was his reply and he froze the small missiles in midair with a flap of his wings.

They seemed to hang in the air for a moment, as if Gravity had forgotten about them. But then they fell, shattering into data on contact with the ground.

The Guardromon seemed to stare for a moment. The chest plates of the front row had been iced over by the attack.

He pulled his lips away from his teeth as best he could without moving his mouth; a smirk.

"Black Statue!"

He felt it. The blood lust of a Demon and a Virus.

He felt it, but he could not give into it.

Wouldn't give into it.

He'd waited so long for Daisuke; he wouldn't allow himself to become a monster now.

_But he would still crush anyone who got in his way!_

**XxXXxX**

"Hikari!" Daisuke shouted suddenly, pointing at Andromon.

For a moment, the more experienced Chosen feared an attack, but Andromon hadn't moved a muscle, yet.

Is that a good sign? She wondered.

She didn't know.

But it didn't matter.

She approached Andromon anyway.

"Andromon," She began. "Don't you remember me?"

The Perfect Digimon followed her with his eyes, but seemed content to listen.

"Did you forget? You fought beside us…against Mugendramon and Piemon. We're friends, Andromon."

For a moment, her actions drew no response.

But then Andromon took a step towards.

Daisuke was by her side again in an instant and she knew he would drag her back, away from the fight.

"No," She says.

Daisuke pauses.

He swallows.

"Hikari…"

"Let me try." She said, before he could protest.

Daisuke took a deep breath and looked down. He met Tailmon's eye and she nodded, though not without uncertainty.

Daisuke stepped back.

Andromon took another step towards her, and then another.

He drew closer and closer until he loomed over Hikari.

The girl stared up at him with unflinching eyes.

Beside her, Daisuke trembled with a desire to grab his friend and run away. At her feet, Tailmon trembled with a desire to attack.

But Hikari and Andromon paid no attention to either.

Their gazes locked and neither backed down.

Andromon suddenly grabbed her, taking a hand in each arm, and lifted her up into the air.

Both of her companions reacted quickly, but they accomplished little.

Daisuke, heedless of the fact that he was faced with a Perfect level Digimon, grabbed Andromon's left arm, but he was just lifted from the earth along with his friend.

Tailmon attacked.

"Neko Punch!" She cried, slamming a paw into her opponents chest.

She bounced off Andromon's metal armor.

If the larger Digimon noticed the attack at all, he didn't show it.

He held the girl and boy aloft and showed no sign of putting them back down.

But…

He took no further actions to hurt them, either.

"Andromon…" Hikari said, now looking down at her old friend.

Honestly, she was a bit sad. The fact that the Kaiser had put her and Andromon in this situation made her sad…and upset too. She was definitely upset with the Kaiser.

But, for now, the Kaiser wasn't important. It didn't matter that he had been the one to cause this situation.

In the end, Andromon wore an Evil Ring.

And she had to help her friend.

It was as simple as that.

Andromon was silent, however, and that silence was beginning to hurt. So far, there had been no response from the machine Digimon.

"Andromon…don't you remember me?" She asked. "Do you not remember any of us? We…took a picture together, didn't we? After everything was over?"

Hikari didn't to admit it, but at this point, she was dangerously close to crying.

As if seeing that, Andromon finally responded.

And his response shocked Daisuke and Tailmon, but to Hikari, it was like an answer to a prayer.

"Hikari?" He asked, slowly and unsurely.

**XxXXxX**

A black statue of Angemon had emerged from the ground before Gargomon; the 'Black Statue.'

And for a brief moment, the Guardromon weren't sure what to make of that.

Then the statue became animate and started beating the crap out of them.

The statue spread its wings suddenly, black 'flesh' flexing as if it were organic, and took to the air, moving as if it was alive. And not made out of some black stone-like substance.

It extended its fist, unleashing a blast of dark energy as it opened its mouth as if to shout, though no sound came from it—it was, after all, a statue. The unholy version of Angemon's attack slammed into a Guardromon's chest and flung him roughly back, shattering the ring that bound his will and denting his chest besides.

That act snapped the Guardromon out of the confusion that had held them back.

The statue was an enemy.

That was all they needed to know.

"Destruction Grenade!" The remaining Guardromon cried as one, paying no attention to their fallen 'comrade.'

'Angemon' gave a mighty flap of his wings, lifting himself high above the missiles, avoiding them easily.

His creator could have done the same, but…

Gargomon could not afford to move.

Not with Daisuke and Hikari somewhere behind him.

"White Statue!" He cried again, freezing the missiles with another gust from his wings.

It's said that Gargoyle statues were used to ward away evil in the past.

In the same way, Gargomon would not allow any harm to come to those he would protect.

He'd protect them; this was his line.

It went without saying that he could not hold his own forever against this army, but this was his line.

He refused to fail his partner; not after waiting for him so long.

But, in order to do that, he had to stay where he was, lest something slip by him.

"Neko Punch!" Tailmon said behind him.

He glanced quickly over his shoulder—a peak was all he could afford, since he didn't dare take his attention completely off his opponents.

It wasn't until he'd looked back at the Guardromon that he finished processing the image.

"White Statue!"

He froze the chests of the first wave, but didn't stop there. A mental command moved the Black Statue into action, making it rain down dark blasts of energy, distracting the Guardromon. He used his White Statue again; and again after that, freezing the entire front row solid, creating a still living blockade.

Then, sure that turning around wouldn't just make things worse, he checked behind him again.

That feeling rose up in him again when he saw how close to Daisuke Andromon was and the memory of what happened to Guilmon didn't help.

He wanted to tear the Cyborg apart, but something stopped him.

Andromon was so close; if he attacked, the Perfect level could hurt Daisuke before he got close enough to even _try_ to stop him.

A memory of how close claws came to Daisuke's face forcibly reminded Gargomon that in the state he was in _he_ could hurt Daisuke.

And even if he could keep Daisuke safe, it would only be momentarily.

Andromon had proven it already, hadn't he?

The simple difference in power between the two of them.

But…

Even though all of that was true…

It went without saying that he had to do something to protect his friends.

A thought stuck him and an idea began to grow in his mind.

For the moment, Andromon wasn't doing anything.

He didn't know how long that would last and he couldn't rely on things to remain that way, but for the moment, _Andromon was not attacking_.

He glanced back at the Guardromon and wondered how many there were.

'A lot' was the only answer he could come up with.

But how many Guardromon were there in the city itself?

They'd freed a lot when they'd first come here.

They'd freed a few more in the sewers.

They'd gathered an army here.

How many more were there?

It was not fear that brought these questions to Gargomon's mind, but the workings of a plan.

He doubted that _all_ the Guardromon in the city had gathered here. There were probably others defending the tower. And, if the Kaiser knew they were here, there were probably some hounding the others.

But, taking into account how spread out they were and the losses they'd suffered…

There couldn't be that many at the Tower.

But…

He looked at Daisuke.

He couldn't leave him. Something could happen while he was gone and he could get hurt.

He had to stay.

But that was okay.

There was someone else he could send.

He glanced at the sky at his Black Statue. It didn't nod in return, but it didn't need to, either.

It could destroy the tower just as well as he could.

He had the means. Now he just needed an opportunity. If he sent it right now, surely _someone_ would notice. And if they did—if they realized what he was trying to do—they'd give chase and make things much more complicated.

He needed to sneak the statue away without anyone noticing.

But how. All the Guardromon's eyes were on him. How was he supposed to be subtle like this?

The Answer to his question came from the Heavens in a rain of stars and red light.

"Shooting Star!"

"Red Sun!"

The attacks fell upon the Guardromon, bring chaos to their ranks, as the two attackers flew over their heads.

Takeru and Miyako had arrived.

He wanted to say 'you're late,' but their timing was impeccable.

All eyes were on them; even Andromon had turned to look at them. Takeru was ignoring the Guardromon, obviously realizing Andromon was a bigger threat.

There was a story there. He'd have to remember to ask about it.

For now…

He glanced to the sky once more.

_Go_.

He turned back to the Guardromon without waiting to see his servant depart. He knew it would do its job.

So now, with Pegasmon and Holsmon to protect Daisuke, he would do his.

**XxXXxX**

Takeru rode Pegasmon over the Guardromon, heading straight for Andromon.

It may have seemed strange; to ignore the army in favor of a single person. It may have even seemed cold, since there seemed to be a sole Digimon fighting that entire army.

But Takeru knew the power of a Perfect level. He knew what it meant and he knew that Andromon was more dangerous than that entire army.

They could run from the Guardromon. They could hold them at bay and work around them and fight them.

But Andromon would step on them as they were now and crush them like bugs.

If he was chasing Hikari and Daisuke, then the two of them were facing a very real possibility of death.

But it wasn't until Pegasmon flew him close enough that Takeru realized how close.

If he'd been moving under his own power, he would have frozen. But Pegasmon didn't stop, instead turning to fly a wide circle around Andromon, and Takeru forced himself to recover in the time Pegasmon bought him.

He silently thanked his partner, giving him a gentle squeeze with one hand.

He knew why Pegasmon had flown him in a circle and it wasn't just for strategic reasons.

"Andromon, let her go." He said in a voice that he hoped was sure.

Andromon just looked at him for a moment.

"Takeru."

Any doubts Takeru had about this being a different Andromon died a swift death in that moment.

But, he thought, did that really change anything?

"Andromon, please put her down." He tried. "Just…put her on the ground gently. We're here to help. I promise."

"Takeru." This time it was Hikari who said his name.

She caught his eye and smiled.

But then she shook her head.

"Its okay, Takeru. Andromon's our friend." She continued. "He's not going to hurt me."

Takeru wanted to comment on that. He wanted to question her sanity, since she was held high into the air by hands that could crush her like a grape.

But…

Andromon had said his name.

It's possible that Hikari just didn't want it to be possible that Andromon would turn on them.

And…Takeru didn't want to believe it either.

He nodded at her and then did something that reason told him was stupid.

He gestured towards the ground.

Pegasmon understood.

"Takeru?" He questioned, his voice solemn as it always was when he evolved; that was one thing that hadn't changed between Angemon and Pegasmon. The Child always became an Adult. "Are you sure about this?"

"No. But…I will Hope things will be okay."

Pegasmon snorted out a breath in what might have been a laugh.

"Of course."

Pegasmon landed gently onto the ground and he slid off.

Takeru approached Andromon slowly, hands raised.

"See? It's okay. It's just me." He glanced at Daisuke, who was still hanging from Andromon's arm and rolled his eyes. "Get down from there."

Daisuke made a face, but glanced at Hikari, who nodded.

He let go and moved to stand by Takeru, though not without a nervous glance back at Andromon. Takeru noticed that white Digimon seemed to relax after he did.

"Are you sure about this guy?" Daisuke whispered furiously in his ear.

No, he thought.

"Yeah," He said. "He's an old friend."

He nodded towards the white Digimon that had been fighting the Guardromon; Miyako and Holsmon had gone to support him.

"V-mon," Daisuke state bluntly.

The Chosen of Hope had to lift an eyebrow at _that_.

"Digimental of Light," Daisuke added, seeing that. "If you want to know how that happened, there's nothing I can do for you, because I have no clue."

"I…see."

He looked towards V-mon's new form and mulled over a thought for a moment.

"Pegasmon, go help them."

Daisuke and Pegasmon both looked at him like he was stupid.

Doubt crept in at those glances.

_If this is a trap—_

He crushed doubt with logic.

_This close to him, it doesn't really matter whether Pegasmon is nearby or not. Andromon could kill us long before we managed to pile onto his back. And even if he didn't, carrying all of us while fighting a Perfect would not be fun. In fact, it would probably end horribly. The type of horrible that involves a long fall and a sickening crunch. As such, instead of staying here guarding us when we apparently don't need it, it's probably a better idea for him to go help our friends before they get hurt fighting the army of Digimon who __**do**__ want us dead._

Pegasmon seemed to realize that as well, and from the look in Daisuke's eyes, he'd probably figure it out soon too.

His partner nodded once, firmly.

"Be carefully, Takeru." He said, taking to the air without waiting for a response.

"You know me." Takeru murmured, even though his partner couldn't hear him.

Daisuke nodded, though whether in response to his words or because he'd realized why he'd sent Pegasmon away, Takeru wasn't sure.

He took a step forward.

"I'm Daisuke." He told Andromon.

Andromon just stared.

Daisuke's smile began to falter but it quickly returned when the sound of drilling reached his ears.

Digmon burst onto the surface, holding his partner.

"So I'm late," Iori apologized. "But I had to—oh."

He broke off when he saw Andromon holding Hikari into the air. Digmon tensed behind him.

"What's going on? Help me up." A voice from the tunnel said.

"Uh," Iori began unsurely. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Taichi."

"It's okay," Daisuke said. "Help him up."

The youngest Chosen paused for a second before nodding once. Iori reached into the hole and struggled to lift Taichi to the surface, until Daisuke silently moved to helped.

"Andromon?" Taichi asked, once he was on his feet.

His face hardened instantly when he saw what he was doing to his sister.

"Hikari, are you alright?" He asked immediately.

"Taichi, Andromon is…" Daisuke trailed off with a gesture to the Evil Ring.

Taichi nodded slightly.

"Andromon, it's Taichi! Remember me!"

"Tai…chi…" Andromon said slowly.

The ring around his neck suddenly began to release sparks wildly and Andromon started to scream.

Hikari's eyes widened in concern.

"Andromon!"

The scream stopped abruptly. Unnaturally so; it was like someone had flipped off a switch and now Andromon felt no pain.

Pieces of memory began to come together.

A factory, a black gear, a broken Island, a city on a twisted mountain, Mugendramon, a fight with LadyDevimon, Piemon, a keychain, a victory, and…a picture.

Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Koushiro, Mimi, Jyou, Takeru, and Hikari.

The Chosen.

His friends.

The red glow faded from his eyes.

He put Hikari down gently and lifted his hands to his neck.

"I was…controlled by _this_?"

He broke the ring with a single sharp tug.

Hikari beamed brightly.

"Are you okay now, Andromon?" She asked.

A slight smile and a nod was his reply.

**XxXXxX**

The Armor Digimon held the line against the Guardromon. Gargomon froze a line that he also held while Holsmon and Pegasmon rained attacks from above.

However, they were running into the same problem they had earlier.

There were too many Guardromon.

They were going to exhaust themselves eventually if they tried to keep this up.

"One of us should go destroy that tower." Pegasmon suggested.

"I am so far ahead of you it's not even funny." Gargomon replied.

An explosion came from the direction of the Tower, stopping the Guardromon in their advance.

Did they realize they'd been fooled?

Or was the attack on the Tower harming the Rings as well?

Pegasmon didn't know.

But he had a question that he found more interesting than either of those, and it was one he might be able to answer.

"Okay," He said, looking at Gargomon. "How did you do that?"

Gargomon gave him a cryptic glace somehow, despite his covered eyes and stayed silent.

Pegasmon snorted out a disgusted breath.

So much for answers.

"Gatling Missile!" Andromon cried behind them, making them whirl around in sudden fear-

Which turned to confusion and then relief when they saw that the attack was directed at the Tower, rather than them.

He was free.

None of them knew how, but the Dark Ring no longer bound his will.

Which meant they had a Perfect on their side.

This battle was over.

The Guardromon deactivated, lowering their arms.

Pegasmon released a relieved breath.

"V-mon!" Daisuke shouted, immediately running to his partner. Now that the battle was over and Andromon and the city freed, he had time to be worried about his best friend.

Gargomon trembled at the sight of his partner and Pegasmon immediately narrowed his eyes.

It was faint, but…

Was that a desire to kill he saw in Gargomon's body language?

Daisuke either didn't notice or he didn't care. He stopped right in front of his partner and stood his ground.

Gargomon began to extend a hand, reaching out slowly as if he were fighting against something. The belts that bound him tightly began to glow again, but this time he appeared to fight against it.

That thing within him that was dark and foul saw something in this boy and wanted him dead. It was like it had taken control over him and was using his body as a puppet and the only thing standing between it and the world were the restraints.

Daisuke, run!

It was what he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out.

I waited for you for so long, Daisuke. I don't want us to separate like this.

I don't want to kill you.

The Galgomon claws stretched closer to his partner's face.

Pegasmon didn't know what was going on, but…

Gargomon seemed to be attacking—or trying to attack—Daisuke.

He didn't know why; maybe he had gone crazy when evolving. Or maybe something else.

But he _was_ trying to attack Daisuke and that told Pegasmon everything he _needed_ to know.

He prepared to attack. He could attack without hitting Daisuke; he trusted his aim with Silver Blaze. He was good enough not to endanger Daisuke and he'd just knock V-mon out.

They could sort out the details of what was happening later.

He never got a chance to use his attack, however, because his vision was immediately filled with black 'flesh.'

Pegasmon stopped in surprise.

Angemon? A black Angemon?

The Angemon's hand began to glow as he lifted his staff and Pegasmon immediately snapped out of his stunned stupor.

He was intimately familiar with those attacks.

He didn't have time for this, though; Daisuke was standing so close to Gargomon and he didn't even realize he was in danger—

"It's alright, Gargomon." Daisuke said, slowly reaching up to take a hold over Gargomon's hand.

Both Armor Digimon froze at those words.

Daisuke…Gargomon thought.

It's not that he didn't know, Pegasmon realized. He just didn't care.

Daisuke leaned his head against Gargomon's hand and smiled.

"You did great, V-mon. Let's go home."

Something dark lurked and moved within V-mon's new form.

But it had no power over him anymore.

A white light surrounded Gargomon before streaking across the sky for Hikari's D-Terminal. The black Angemon began to melt away and was gone in seconds and nothing remained to show that he'd been there at all.

When the light was gone, V-mon stood before Daisuke. He wobbled on his feet for a moment before beginning to fall.

Daisuke caught him, as he would always catch him.

V-mon smiled at his partner.

"I'm tired, Daisuke."

The human boy chuckled.

"Yeah. Me, too."

He picked up his partner and began walking back towards Takeru and the others.

Neither said anything about Gargomon.

Neither considered it worth talking about.

Pegasmon watched Daisuke's back for a moment before he began to trot after him.

He needed tell Takeru about this later.

But for the moment, everything seemed fine.

**XxXXxX**

Then the other shoe dropped. Their cheerful victory shattered in a flash of realization as they remembered their missing comrade.

"Takato!" Hikari remembered, going from relieved to panicked in seconds.

Daisuke's eyes widened a moment later, realizing what was wrong. He didn't waste any time, simply breaking out into a run from the realization.

Hikari made to follow after him, but Miyako stopped her.

"What's wrong with Takato?" She asked. "How'd you get separated?"

"Down in the tunnel—"

She suddenly cut herself off, glancing at Andromon.

A pained expression had come over the Perfect Digimon's face.

"I remember." He said, before he began to run. He quickly overtook Daisuke's pace and vanished from sight.

Hikari didn't want to continue, but knew she had too.

"In order to save Daisuke, Guilmon attacked Andromon. He…got hurt pretty bad."

That didn't mean she had to give them a detailed explanation, though.

She'd let the others fill in the blanks.

**XxXXxX**

It turned out they were worried for nothing, which surprised them.

Guilmon, who should have either been horribly wounded or, worse, dead, was walking around uninjured, though he was moving slowly. Takato was sitting on the ground, leaning his back against the side of the tunnel.

He turned towards them and smiled at the sight of Andromon, who was looming awkwardly, unsure what to do or say.

"So we won." He said, as if he'd never doubted it for an instant.

He hadn't.

The game had to go on, after all.

"Takato, Guilmon's okay!" Daisuke asked, recovering enough to express his confusion.

"Raremon fixed him up," The secret Tamer replied. "He's a pretty good doctor, it seems."

Takato's words did nothing but add to Daisuke's confusion.

But Hikari understood.

"Raremon? He helped you? Where is he now?"

Takato smiled and shrugged.

"While Guilmon was resting, he went to check the tunnels for any more Guardromon." He said honestly. "There were quite a few down here at one point, but it seems they're all gone now."

Takeru nodded slowly.

"They probably headed up to the surface when everything was going on." He said.

Takato shrugged.

"Maybe. I don't know." He replied. "But the important part is that we won, right? I'm sorry I couldn't come up to help, but…well, Guilmon was in really bad shape. Raremon managed to find him something to eat, which helped a lot, but…I didn't want to throw him back into a fight with a Perfect, yet. I'm sorry."

Takato averted his eyes.

Daisuke approached his friend, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," He said firmly. "We all saw how badly hurt Guilmon was. Raremon must be some type of miracle worker to get him back on his feet like that. I thought…for a minute there, I thought he was dead. I say nearly being cut in half less than half an hour ago is valid cause for avoiding a rematch with the guy who did it."

"And it's not like we were actually running towards a fight," Hikari added. "We ran from Andromon, too, remember. He just managed to corner us, is all. And everything turned out well in the end, right? Don't beat yourself up about it."

Takato smiled.

"Okay. I won't. But next time a Perfect shows up, we'll be right in the middle of things, won't we Guilmon?"

His partner nodded eagerly.

"We'll have him for dinner and eat the rest of the Kaiser's army for dessert." He said, virally anticipation glimmering in his eyes.

"Oi," Miyako interrupted. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but don't get carried away, guys."

Takato rolled his eyes.

"He's not gonna eat any of the slaves, Miyako. He's just excited about what's gonna happen next."

Daisuke laughed and patted him roughly on the back.

"Yeah, Miyako; don't be such a party-pooper."

Miyako was about to retort, but Andromon cut in, stepping foreward. He halted when Guilmon backed away at his advance, but Takato didn't so much as flinch and his smile never wavered.

"You are Matsuda Takato?" He asked.

The Tamer nodded.

"That's me. This is my partner Guilmon."

Andromon returned the nod before bowing low at the waist.

"I am deeply sorry from the things I have done."

Takato chuckled.

"It's no problem. We bear no more grudge against you then we do against anyone the Kaiser has enslaved. You weren't in control of your actions, so why should we hate you for them?"

Guilmon sniffed him before snorting and nodding with his Tamer's words.

Andromon closed his eyes and nodded again.

"Thank you." He said. "But I must apologize again, for I must leave. The Kaiser's done a great deal of damage to this city and the Guardromon."

Hikari looked worried, remembering all the deactivated Guardromon.

"Will they be like that forever? Can you fix them, Andromon?"

The Cyborg Digimon smiled at her concern and nodded.

"It'll be fine; if we change the program of the Evil Rings, they should go back to normal."

"Even so," Takato said. "There are a lot of Guardromon that need to be fixed and for now, you're the only Digimon in this city besides Raremon. How long will it take to fix everyone?"

"It should only take a few days. I can protect this city for that long." He assured them. "For now though, shouldn't you return home? You've all had a long day."

Even Takato winced at that.

"Yeah," He said. "My parents are gonna kill me."

But he had a few more things to do before he was done.

**XxXXxX**


	12. Chapter 10: Changing Point Part III

**Devil's Advocate**

**Chapter Ten: Changing Point**

**Part Three**

**XxXXxX**

It wasn't until hours later that Andromon noticed something odd.

The numbers weren't adding up like they were supposed to.

He was missing some of his Guardromon.

No, not _some_.

He was missing a _lot_ of Guardromon.

He hadn't really noticed at first—or rather, despite noticing that there were less Guardromon than he would have expected, he'd just figured that they were in some other part of the city.

But the longer he'd worked, the more he noticed their absence and the more it bothered him.

Eventually, it bothered him so much that he stopped working on the Guardromon and began searching the city for his missing charges.

He didn't find them.

He searched the city in person, he scanned it through the city's security systems, and he even scanned it again with his own power, but he didn't find them.

Dozens of Guardromon were missing and he had no idea where they could be.

His suspicion immediately turned to the Kaiser. He was the enemy, after all, and this area had only just been removed from his control. He was the obvious suspect.

But…

How?

How could he have removed all those Guardromon without anyone noticing?

And more importantly, why?

It might have made sense if he'd known that the city was about to be freed and he'd decided that he'd remove as many of his servants from the area as he could before the Tower was destroyed and they were freed.

_But he had no way of knowing that._

Things had been going his way until the end! Andromon wasn't proud of it by any means, but he'd been crushing the Chosen before Hikari had managed to get through to him!

Rather than removing his forces, wouldn't it have made more sense to crush his opponent while he could?

And even more than that, why only a few Guardromon? He was glad to be free of the Kaiser, but from a logical standpoint, wouldn't he be the preferred choice? Didn't it make sense to make him leave if the city was about to be freed? Or, at least, to 'save' _more_ Guardromon?

And how would he have 'saved' them, anyway? He'd need to have removed them from the city and transported them to another area controlled by the Dark Towers. That meant at least getting them out of the city. By the time things had taken a turn for the worse for the Kaiser, was there really enough time left for him to do that?

He doubted it. After Hikari had gotten through to him, things had happened very quickly. Even if the Kaiser had noticed immediately that something was wrong, he would have had, at most, minutes to do something about it before the Tower fell.

Not much time for a group of Guardromon that had been hunting the Chosen in the middle of the city to escape.

And even if he _had_ noticed the problem that early, wouldn't it have made more sense to have _done_ something about it? Like, have those Guardromon attack the Chosen.

If they could have left the city, then they could have circled around the block and pulled a sneak attack.

No, things weren't adding up. The Kaiser didn't make sense as the culprit; he didn't have the time, he didn't have the means, and he didn't even have a _reason_.

So the disappearance of the Guardromon didn't make sense—

A thought dawned on Andromon.

It didn't make sense…

At least, not if you started from the position that the _Kaiser_ did it.

And but a moment after the thought crossed his mind, it began.

He came in silence.

He gave no statement of intention; no declaration of battle.

He did not even demand surrender.

Predators did not give such things to their prey.

A pillar of fire cut through the night sky and hit Andromon without warning and the hunt began.

**XxXXxX**

The blast lifted Andromon from his feet and threw him down the street.

In a fraction of a second, his back connected with the wall of a building.

For moment, that instant in which he was caught between fire and steel, it seemed as if Andromon would be stopped by the impact.

Then the moment ended and he crashed violently through the wall. He flew once more through empty space before crashing into—through—another wall into a hallway, across it, through another wall, through another room, through one final wall, and out into another street.

He flew further, even as the blast finally ran out of power and released him. He connected with the ground moments later, hitting it with a resounding and painful clang, but his forward momentum didn't let him stop there. He bounced across the surface of the road like a rock across a lake, continuing all the way down the length of the street, and finally coming to a halt after connecting with another building on the far side of it with enough force to crack the outer wall.

For a moment, Andromon laid there, silent and unmoving.

Then he moved slightly, focusing on something far beyond the range of human vision. Through the smoke and the dust and the still falling debris, he could see _something_. He didn't know what, except that it was big and red and had just attacked him.

But then, that was all he really _needed_ to know to see where this was going.

He rolled over onto his hands and knees after confirming that a follow up attack wasn't immediate. Either his opponent was waiting for something or he didn't have the same visual perception Andromon was gifted with.

There was really no way to tell, though Andromon suspected the latter, simply because he didn't see anything in particular to wait for.

Either way, he probably couldn't do _this_.

With his hands on the ground, he extended his senses into the Digital World beneath him.

It took only seconds to find what he needed.

Two beings he didn't recognize were moving through the city.

One was so large and heavy that it could only be a Digimon.

The other…

It _could_ be a small humanoid Digimon; Andromon couldn't think of anyone in particular that both fit that description and would be likely to be here, but in the Digital World, as a rule, anything was possible and dismissing possibilities out of hand was technically classified as 'stupid and dangerous.'

However, if Andromon had to guess…

He'd say it was a human child.

And he could only think of one human child that had any reason to attack him.

The Kaiser.

The issue of the missing Guardromon was quickly filed away and shoved into the back of his mind.

The Kaiser was here and judging from the sheer power of that blow, he'd brought powerful company.

Possibly even a perfect like himself.

_But that didn't matter._

If the Kaiser was here, who he'd brought with him didn't matter.

Why he was here didn't matter.

Even the fact that he was a human child didn't matter…did it?

Andromon thought about what he'd done to the Guardromon.

What he'd done to the city.

What he'd done to the Digital World.

What he'd done to Andromon himself.

Steel finger cracked the ground beneath them.

No.

It didn't matter at all.

Twice now, he'd nearly killed humans. His friends, even.

Once under the control of Devimon's Black Gear.

And again, just earlier this day, his will stolen by the boy now within his reach.

The boy had been willing to kill Hikari and her friend and willing to use _him_ as the weapon to do it!

He'd nearly killed his friends twice under the control of others.

He could kill this boy of his own free will.

He didn't like to kill.

But he knew when it needed to be done.

He'd been willing to fight and kill those that served the Dark Masters.

What difference did it make that _this_ foe was flesh and blood or came from another world?

His will decided, Andromon rose to his feet.

Maybe it was just his perspective as a Cyborg Digimon, but…

Flesh was born to die.

He looked at the metal parts of his body with a careful, noting all signs of damage. He flexed his fingers, then, observing how one of the most important systems of his body—his main weapon—responded to his will. A quick roll of his shoulders determined the state of his swinging arm, even as a quick check of his chest plate tested his secondary weapons condition.

All systems operational.

Andromon tilted his head to the side then, cracking his neck for no reason other than the fact he could.

"Ow," He said. "That hurt."

There was nothing in his voice to imply this was true and the Kaiser probably couldn't hear him anyway.

"But enough about me," He continued.

His hand became a storm of motion as it suddenly began rotating at tremendous speeds.

"Let's talk about _you_. Spiral Sword!"

**XxXXxX**

"Holy!" Takato exclaimed at the sight.

The blade of energy cut through the building Andromon had crashed through as easily as it had gone through the air before it.

In its wake, the Building was cleanly split diagonally and was in the process of falling. Not only that, but the blade continued through the building without even slowing down.

Takato frowned after a moment.

Had Andromon been that strong down in the sewers? Takato didn't think so; an attack like that would have _killed_ Guilmon. Well, it had been a cut scene, but…

"You bastard…were you holding back?"

Well, maybe he was just fighting off the control of the Evil ring, but it didn't really matter one way or another; the result was the same.

"…Hmph. So what? It doesn't change anything."

It didn't.

Because…

Andromon may have been holding back a little bit in the sewers…

But…

So had they.

**XxXXxX**

Andromon's feet connected with the side of the building just as it began to fall, he moved so fast. He rode the tilting building down, feeling a hint of satisfaction as it shook when it connected with something.

A fraction of a second later, he was forced to slide back a step as a massive red arm broke through the building, grasping claws reaching for the Cyborg Digimon.

He narrowed his eyes and grabbed the offending limb with both hands. Planting his feet and twisting his hips, the Perfect Digimon turned away, pulling the arm over his shoulder. He grit his teeth and, with a mighty heave, tore his opponent straight through the Building, smashing his back into the side of the building at the same time the Building hit the ground.

The force of the impacts proved too much form it and it immediately collapsed beneath the two Digimon.

Even as the building broke apart beneath his feet, Andromon's focus was still on his opponent.

His first thought was as simple as it was frightening.

_I have no idea who this is._

Andromon wasn't arrogant enough to think he knew _every_ Digimon in the Digital World, even with his data banks. That was nigh-impossible, because new Digimon species appeared with some frequency.

Even so, it was always a bit unnerving to meet a Digimon you didn't recognize from the first time.

And when that first time consisted of said Digimon trying to kill you, it was flat-out dangerous.

As such, he immediately gathered as much information as he could.

Large, Andromon noted. Very large, and likely very strong as well; considering its musculature, it was probably strong, even for its size. Reptilian, as well, reminding Andromon briefly of the Greymon species.

But that was where the similarities ended.

It had no helmet, as the Greymon line often did, though he had a head of white hair that reminded him distantly of MetalGreymon. His skin was red and his build was slimmer than Greymon's. His body was wrapped in black band-like tattoos, some of which glowed with Digital Code.

But the feature that most firmly distinguished him from Greymon in Andromon's eyes, were the creature's own. Large, yellow, catlike eyes that glimmered with something dark.

It was at that moment that Andromon noticed the beast had no Evil Ring.

As if in response to that realization, the beast gave him a smile with far too many teeth.

For a moment, time seemed to halt as Andromon and the creature faced each other, airborne in the middle of a collapsing building.

Then the unknown Digimon opened its mouth and Andromon could see the red glow at the back of its throat.

It didn't really surprise Andromon, since he'd been on the receiving end of this attack already, but knowing the exact source of the flames was useful. He added it to the mental list he was making about things to watch out for.

Known weaponry: Claws, teeth, and the ability to exhale fire. Possible weaponry: those bladelike protrusions on its arms and its tail.

Even so, Andromon wasn't worried. He would grant that this Digimon was large and probably strong, but that didn't matter. The Digital World wasn't so simple a place as to equate size and power; the biggest, strongest _looking_ Digimon weren't necessarily _actually_ the strongest.

Point of fact, they generally _weren't_ the strongest.

That wasn't to say this Digimon _wasn't_ powerful, but if he was, it was because of his _own_ power, not because of his size or shape.

Andromon wouldn't be intimidated by size alone.

So when it looked like he would be on the receiving end of an attack that had already sent him crashing through walls and streets, Andromon didn't flinch.

_He moved forward._

Pulling on the arm he still held, he pulled himself closer to his opponent, and then _past_ him, flinging himself downwards and covering the remaining distance to the ground before his opponent could unleash his attack.

Andromon's feet slammed into the ground at the same a tremendous blast of fire rent the night sky. The force of connecting with the ground drove Andromon into a crouch, which he immediately made use of by jumping, returning the way he came.

His metal foot slammed into the beast's stomach, knocking him even higher into the air and literally knocking the breath out of him—along with a tremendous gout of fire.

Andromon didn't stop there, though; if an opponent was in a bad position, following up was natural.

His hand immediately began spinning.

Above him, the Kaiser's monster was spinning end over end, completely off guard.

Perfect.

"Spiral Sword!"

The blade of energy exploded out of the ruins of the building and streaked towards his target.

Flipping through the air, end over end, the monster should have had no chance of countering or avoiding.

It did so anyway.

"Fire Blaster!" It said, coughing out a blast of flame when the blast was close. Even Andromon felt the force of the resulting explosion as the attacks cancelled each other out. The monster itself, airborne as it was, was simply tossed away, out of Andromon's sight.

The Cyborg

quickly followed, jumping out of the wreckage and into the streets.

At first glance, his target was nowhere to be seen.

Then he lifted his eyes.

The red Reptile 'stood' on the side of a building, standing on all fours. His claws had sunk deeply into the metal and he'd gripped handfuls of it as if he were kneading dough.

Their eyes met before the larger of the pair snarled.

"Dragon Spine!"

**XxXXxX**

Growmon ignored the feeling of his hairs removing themselves. It didn't really hurt; it just felt unusual, just like the sensation of the new hair rapidly growing in their place.

The hairs glowed white and hardened, floating in midair for a long moment before an effort of will threw them forth.

The lethal hairs streaked through the air towards their target. Andromon quickly moved backwards, showing his experience.

The unwritten rule of the Digital World was that appearances could be deceiving.

In Growmon's eyes, his Tamer and Creator embodied this rule.

But it applied to Digimon Attacks just as it applied to everything else; just because something happened to _look_ weak had absolutely nothing to do with whether it was strong or not.

The hairs drilled themselves into the ground after missing their target. A moment later, they were gone—not because they had faded away, but because they had cut so deeply into the surface that their entire length was hidden.

Growmon wasn't particularly bothered by the fact that they'd missed; he hadn't really expected them to land.

They'd served their intended purpose wonderfully.

While Andromon was briefly distracted by the attack, Growmon was already following up.

He felt the power gather in his throat. He knew, logically, that it was extremely hot—it was fire, after all—but he felt none of its heat.

Even so, it was uncomfortable. The power gathered in his throat grew and grew until he felt like his entire neck would blow apart.

Of course, he knew that would never happen. His throat wouldn't be affected in the slightest. It was just his mind interpreting the data of the sensation into something he understood.

It meant that he was 'fully charged.'

He unleashed the built up power with a roar, splitting the sky with fire once more.

"Exhaust Flame!"

Andromon saw it coming, but that didn't mean he could simply dodge. Growmon had timed his attack well and the Cyborg was in mid-step and off balance.

Even so, a Perfect would not be so easily defeated.

"Gatling Missile!"

His chest plate opened and released a pair of his signature missiles—

Which curved in midair and hit the ground a few meters away.

The resulting explosion was immense and its concussive force threw Andromon through the air.

More specifically, it threw him right out of the line of attack.

Growmon narrowed his eyes.

That move—quickly deciding on which attack to take and which to avoid, judging the best place to cause an explosion that would throw him out of the line of fire but not hurt him badly, responding so quickly to the mere sight of Growmon's attack—it wasn't something he'd made up on the fly.

That was the countermeasure Andromon had decided on for his Exhaust Flame.

That told Growmon several things; that having felt the attack once before, Andromon had no desire to do so again. Moreover, having felt it once before, Andromon had decided he would rather risk a nearby explosion than feel it again.

Growmon took a bit of pride in that fact, but it faded quickly. Because not only had Andromon decided that; he'd been able to make it _work_. He'd judged the pros and cons and decided on his course of action—to dodge via an explosion. He'd then calculated the exact positioning needed for the explosion to avoid personal harm while allowing for a quick dodge. He'd proceeded to prove the success of said tactic in a stressful situation, in response to a surprise attack.

And he'd done all of this in the midst of battle.

Growmon considered that.

Perhaps he should have felt afraid.

But he didn't.

He was his Creator's weapon and Takato wanted Andromon dead. So Growmon wouldn't back down, even if it meant he would die.

It did, however, mean that his most powerful attack would be largely useless in this battle, at least under normal circumstances.

**XxXXxX**

Andromon twisted in midair with the precision only a Digimon could have, turning his flight into a skillful landing.

Even having minimized the impact of the blast as much as possible, the explosion had hurt—a sign of his power as a Perfect level Digimon.

It was even more telling that he preferred such pain to feeling his opponents attack again.

Andromon frowned thoughtfully. He couldn't be sure, as he didn't recognize his opponent, but…

He was definitely Perfect level in power.

So the Kaiser had the power of another Perfect on his side.

…That was very bad.

The Chosen had managed to survive him, in that Hikari had brought him to his senses. However, even before that, he'd been resisting the Kaiser's control.

Even so, they'd been left with no choice but to run or die.

Well, perhaps that wasn't completely true.

Prior to his deployment, all of the Chosen had exhausted themselves battling the Guardromon. Most of them had managed to flee and come back a few hours later, a bit rested—though there was only so much that one could recover in the space of a few hours. Hikari, Takato, and their partners, on the other hand, had been forced to continue to run.

So, Andromon would be fair. The Chosen had been weaker than him when they were all exhausted.

Perhaps if they were all well rested, they could fight him even at his full power…though that was only a maybe, as it was unsupported by any actual evidence, as the new Chosen, to his knowledge, had never fought an actual Perfect.

It was just as possible that they were weaker, even then.

Which made this opponent so dangerous.

If the Kaiser truly had a servant with the power of a Perfect, the Chosen were in very real danger. Andromon couldn't say who would win that fight, which basically meant that his friend's survival relied completely on chance and luck.

Even if it was possible they'd be victorious, Andromon didn't want to bet the lives of a group of children in what was basically a coin toss.

Not even the lives of children that had proven themselves.

Hell, especially not those children. More than warriors or the saviors of this world, they were his _friends_.

He absolutely could not allow this opponent to survive.

So he would fight with intent to kill and if pursuing that goal were to cost him his own life, then he was more than willing to sacrifice it.

He met his opponent's eyes despite the distance that separated them.

"Gatling Missile." He intoned.

He fired the missiles from his chest and the larger Digimon reacted immediately, releasing his hold on the side of the building and dropping to the streets below.

Andromon almost laughed.

As if dodging would be enough to save him.

The missiles immediately curved in midair, readjusting their course to head towards their moved target.

The massive beast sucked in a quick breath before spitting out three consecutive blasts of flame. Two connected with the missiles with pinpoint accuracy, impressing Andromon despite himself.

He didn't have much time to linger on the feeling, however, because the third ball was aimed at him.

His hand began to rotate again and when the ball had drawn close enough, he stuck his right hand into it and dispelled it, sweeping his arm to the side as he did so.

"Spiral Sword."

The blade covered the distance between then in a second.

But even that was more than enough time to allow his opponent to react.

The blades on his arms extended and glowed brightly as they were covered in plasma. He quickly brought his arms up to slice through Andromon's attack.

When he brought his arms back down, the torrential gout of fire that was his strongest attack gathered in the Dragon's throat.

Andromon was ready to react the moment he saw it, but what the beast did next surprised him.

He released the attack as he swept his head from one side to the other.

And with that one motion, every building near Andromon came crashing down.

In the seconds he had before he was buried beneath the falling rubble, Andromon quickly searched for escape routes and found only one.

And at that moment, he realized his opponent's plan.

The only path to 'safety' took him straight towards his enemy.

**XxXXxX**

Growmon knew Andromon had noticed what he'd done. He wasn't surprised or disappointed, either; that had been the idea. And he hadn't actually tried to hide his intentions, either; only Andromon's side of the street had been damaged by his Exhaust Flame—his own side was completely untouched.

He had never intended to trick Andromon into doing something—he was going to force the Perfect to obey his will.

And indeed, the Cyborg began to run towards him.

Growmon opened his mouth and drew in a deep, deep breath.

Andromon had figured out a way to dodge his Exhaust Flame, regardless of his own position—he'd knock himself to the side with an explosion and avoid the blast completely.

But what if dodging to the side meant being buried alive beneath a mountain of rubble?

If you couldn't move backwards and you couldn't to the side, then the only directions left were forward, up, and down.

And Andromon couldn't dig, much less fly.

Of course, the dangers of moving forward were obvious, but if he let himself be trapped beneath the rubble, Growmon was more than willing to kick him while he was down.

He was a Demon Dragon. He didn't have to fight fair.

With a roar, he unleashed a river of fire.

He was ready for Andromon to try to dodge. He figured he'd probably try jumping over him, since dodging around him was unlikely to work; he was big, but in this wide street he could always just turn with Ardromon as he tried to move past him and that required him to get fairly close to the blades on his arms. Rolling under him seemed fairly cartoony, and with his tail it wouldn't work anyway.

Andromon would probably rely on the fact that there was only so far back that he could throw his head. Andromon would be right.

But he would also be surprised. He didn't need to see behind him; he could fire his Dragon Spine without looking, if he needed to. It wouldn't beat Andromon, but it would distract him long enough for him to turn around, and when he did so, he fully intended to cut the Cyborg to pieces with an assault of Plasma Blades.

But Andromon surprised him.

Instead of trying to dodge, he faced Growmon head on, running straight for the mouth of the beast.

For a moment, Growmon was surprised, not understanding the action. Did Andromon think he could go _through_ him without being hurt?

No, he wasn't that stupid. Growmon had more than proven his own strength.

And yet, the Perfect Digimon was still charging him.

For a fraction of a second, Growmon entertained the thought of his opponent having gone insane and just as quickly threw the thought away. He'd proven himself, but so had Andromon. He was dangerously intelligent.

But then why?

And suddenly, he understood.

Andromon knew he couldn't get to safety. Just as Growmon respected him, in his own way, Andromon also respected his opponent. He knew that there wasn't any easy way around this attack and so didn't even bother trying to dodge past him.

Instead, he'd decided on something else.

If he could not dodge the attack, then he would meet it with all of his strength.

Growmon's feral yellow eyes gleamed brightly with excitement.

He would meet the challenge head on.

He'd already acknowledged Andromon and this did nothing but reaffirm his respect.

Andromon was a worthy opponent.

Worthy to fight and worthy to _die_.

**XxXXxX**

Avoiding damage was impossible.

Andromon realized that the second Growmon's attack tore through the buildings around him.

He'd fallen into a trap and escaping uninjured wasn't going to be an option.

That's why it was a trap.

But if the only option was to get injured, then it was obvious what he had to do.

He had to make sure that his opponent got hurt worse than he did.

So he ignored all the 'escape routes' which took him too close to the Dragon to be anything but another trap. Instead, he threw himself into the throw with calm resolve.

He saw his enemy's eyes widen.

He saw them narrow again in understanding.

And most importantly of all, he saw the fire building between its jaws.

He knew what was about to happen would hurt.

He knew that it might even kill him.

But…

He didn't care.

His hand began to spin furiously as he funneled as much of his power as he could into it. He pushed his mechanical parts to their utmost limits as he drew nearer to his target.

He wanted to get a close as he possibly could before he attacked, knowing that this clash could decide the battle.

At this range, he couldn't possibly miss—not completely, at least. Even an attempt to dodge would just mean the attack would hit somewhere else.

What's more, at point blank range, his attack would be at its most powerful.

He thought the beast knew that as well, because he allowed him to draw closer and closer still.

He was five steps away when the clash began.

He drew back his blade, ready to bring it down and end things. The monster unleashed his own power with a roar that, at this range, Andromon _felt_ as much as heard. The wave of fire swallowed up the distance between them in an instant.

Andromon could have brought down his arm and contested the attack with his own.

But doing that would have done nothing but proven whose attack had the greater power and Andromon had nothing to guarantee that the winner would be him.

So he didn't.

He didn't even try to dodge. At this distance, he'd never make it and trying would have done nothing but ruin his plan, anyway.

Instead, he brought up his other arm and took the attack on a Chrome Digizoid covered forearm.

In the moments after the impact, Andromon felt no heat. He felt nothing that even implied that he was blocking fire.

All he felt was a force that he felt could have shaken mountains.

That force that had thrown him through buildings like he weighed nothing…it hurt so much more at this range.

It could have blasted him away again, in any other situation.

But this was why he'd purposefully gotten so close.

He'd put himself in a position where the blast couldn't take him straight on. He'd be washed away by the attack like a leaf in a river.

But with him this close, the much larger Digimon had to aim at him at an angle. The force was still the same, but he was being pushed against the ground rather than mere air.

It hurt a lot more—like he was being flattened.

But Chrome Digizoid was made of stronger stuff than that.

Slowly, Andromon straightened against the torrent of flame.

It was then that he began to feel the heat. Chrome Digizoid was incredibly strong…but it was still a metal. It was a very good conductor of heat. It could even melt, it if got hot enough.

Andromon hoped it wouldn't get that hot. He had no experience with melting while still alive and he'd be perfectly happy to keep it that way.

He took a step forward, fighting against the tide. He was close—maybe four steps away, but against this much force, every inch seemed like a mile.

He took another step as the heat made his armor glow red.

With his third step, the organic parts of his body began to ignite, setting his nerves on literal fire.

When he took his fourth step, he carefully turned his body to shield his still spinning arm. Even if the rest of his body boiled and burned, he had to at least keep that part safe, or it all would be for nothing.

He took the final step and was in position.

But he still couldn't attack. Not as long as the torrent of flames lasted. The sheer force would counteract most of the attack and he had to make this count.

So he had to either stop the attack or wait it out.

He chose the one that didn't involve staying on fire for who knows how long.

He lifted the arm he was using to shield himself.

"Grasp Hang."

His left arm extended suddenly, plunging through the fire with tremendous speed, right into its source.

Into the mouth of the beast.

The attack ended with a sudden choking sound. The beast seemed stunned to have an arm of heated Chrome Digizoid shoved into his mouth.

Andromon saw his chance and took it, leaping forward with all his strength.

The beast's jaws closed down suddenly on the arm and began crushing it between them.

Andromon didn't pay it any mind—he'd known from the beginning that he'd probably lose his arm.

He brought his spinning hand up for the attack.

His opponent's yellow eyes widened in sudden realization and—

Andromon could have smiled.

Fear. He understood what was about to happen and he was scared.

Even so, the creature brought up his two massive arms in a futile defense as Andromon brought down his arm.

A moment later, two objects hit the ground and exploded into data.

The monster looked at the stumps of his arms in disbelieving shock.

And then he began to scream.

**XxXXxX**

Growmon was nearly blinded by pain. It was hard to even describe and he had nothing to compare it to.

He was sure how a human would have felt it. He was vaguely aware of the concepts of bones and nervous systems, but he had no such thing himself. He didn't know how a human would have felt the same wound, or how it would have felt to have flesh, muscle, and bone cut through.

Maybe it would have hurt even more than this.

Maybe it would have been nothing in comparison.

He didn't know.

All he knew was that he didn't need a nervous system to transmit information to his 'brain'—or rather, as a completely digital life forms, every part of his body was capable of transmitting such information.

He felt the pain over every inch of the wound. For a few extraordinarily long moments, he even felt the other side of his arms, the side that had been severed, still transmitting data easily through the equally digital air that separated him from them.

It was almost a relief when they exploded into data, simply because it nearly halved the pain. He loaded the data almost unconsciously, distantly remembering the value of data, but it did nothing to heal the wound.

He couldn't focus, couldn't see, couldn't even _think_—

So he fell right into Andromon's trap.

If he had been in a more rational state of mind, he would have realized the truth. He would have figured out that while the loss of his arms was horrible and crippling, he'd accomplished his intended goal and survived an attack that could have been lethal. He'd have realized that while the loss might have cost him the battle, it had not cost him the war.

He'd have realized that he needed to fall back and return later.

By losing his arms, his Tamer's plan would have fallen apart—but so what?

Plans did that sometimes.

Even he knew that.

Moreover, there would be other plans and other days. After he'd healed, he could have returned to combat Andromon another day. He might be too late to prevent Andromon from telling the Tamer's of his existence, but if he had thought about it rationally, he'd have realized Andromon didn't know _anything_. Not even his _name_.

Any following attacks on the Perfect level would be more difficult—he'd be ready, prepared, and likely have help.

But difficult was not the same as impossible.

He could wait days, weeks, even months if need be, biding his time in the secluded regions of the Digital World, preying on Digimon that wouldn't be missed, getting stronger all the while.

If he hadn't been blinded by his defeat, he would have realized that he'd fought well today. This fight had been close—if things had been different, it could have been Andromon who lost.

He'd fought equal to a Perfect today.

If he were to grow even further in strength, the next time they fought, victory would be his for the taking.

If he was calm, if he wasn't in so much pain, if his arms hadn't been lost, if defeat hadn't seemed so certain…

He might have realized all of that.

But here and now, he was engulfed in pain that seemed without end and a defeat which seemed unassailable.

When Andromon, almost as weakened and injured as Growmon himself, stepped forward, moving to end the fight quickly before his opponent could recover or realize the damage he'd caused his opponent, Growmon didn't even see him, such was his pain.

But that had been the trap.

When Growmon first moved to defend himself, Andromon realized a lethal blow was impossible.

He hadn't even bothered aiming for one, after that acknowledgement.

The simple truth of battle was that half of it was fought in the mind.

The winner of a fight wasn't necessarily the stronger fighter. A more powerful opponent could be brought down by any number of things.

A moment of distraction or hesitance.

A flash of uncertainty or fear.

Or perhaps, just a great deal of pain.

If something hurts enough, then most people will stop. Even if it's not lethal, even if it's not even crippling—if it hurts enough, it can make someone stop.

It was easy to say that one could fight on, even if they lost both their arms, or legs, or an eye.

Actually doing so, however, is another matter.

Even for those who _could_ ignore the pain, their ability to act affectively would naturally plummet.

Andromon didn't need an attack that killed in a single blow.

If his opponent couldn't defend himself against the following attack, a death in two blows was fine, too.

And Growmon couldn't defend himself in his state.

He didn't even acknowledge the attack at all.

But…

"Spiral Sword!"

That was okay.

It was okay that Growmon wasn't in his right mind.

It was okay that he was distracted and lost in his own pain.

It was okay that he couldn't respond to the attack on his own.

Because it didn't matter.

Because there was something that Andromon didn't know when he began to fight Growmon.

_He was out numbered._

So it was okay that Growmon raised no defense.

He didn't need to.

**XxXXxX**

"Card Slash! Meramon!"

**XxXXxX**

Growmon's distant eyes suddenly snapped into focus as he was engulfed in flames.

The flames quickly flowed outwards from him like a wave, swallowing Andromon's attack as it would air, and then washed over Andromon as well.

As if a puppet on strings, Growmon rose to his feet in awkward, jolting motions, unable to use his arms.

But he rose all the same, and stood amidst the flames.

But though he walked through fire, he was not burned.

He hurt.

The pain from his arms had not decreased in the slightest.

But pain didn't matter to him, anymore.

It was not that he didn't feel it, for he did, in excruciating detail, but somehow, it no longer had any hold over him.

He moved for his Tamer wished him to move.

He heard his Tamers will, not with his ears, not even with his mind, but with something much more basic than that.

There was something in his code that spoke to him—carried Takato's message to him.

The Hazard marks on his body began pulsating, flashing red as if in warning.

Takato's message didn't come to him as words.

There was no voice quietly speaking in the back of his head.

Maybe his Tamer had spoken the message aloud, wherever he was in this city.

But what reached him in the end were not those words.

Like a high-level programming language being converted into machine code, what reached him was something more basic, which he had no need to assemble back into actual words to actually understand. It lacked, perhaps, the nuance of the spoken language, where a single word can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on usage and context.

But it was also exact and precise. He didn't need context or emotion to understand—the data conveyed that just fine. If it had meant something else, the message would have been different in a dozen little ways—even if the same word couldn't mean the same thing, everything was detailed precisely in the message that reached him and needed no interpretation.

The emotion behind his message.

The details of his plan.

The exact distance and direction in which he was ordered to move, in three dimensions.

And a simple order that told him to kill.

He had lost his arms. And he couldn't defeat Andromon in a fight, as he now was.

That didn't matter.

He didn't need his arms for this, his Tamer 'told' him. He didn't even need to beat Andromon…yet.

Growmon moved as soon as he received the entire message.

He had his instructions; all he needed to do was carry them out. Quickly, if possible, for the power he had stolen from Meramon's data would not last forever, and it was the only thing with which he could keep Andromon at bay.

The plan was simple.

He could not defeat a foe as powerful as Andromon.

He should instead seek weaker prey.

He'd lost to Andromon twice this day, but the third time he would win.

Even if his arms had been lost, he could recover the same way he had earlier.

So really, Andromon's strength meant nothing in this situation.

If he could not beat the Cyborg, then he would hunt and prey on the weak until he was strong enough to win.

He didn't even need to leave the city to do it, either.

After all, Andromon was nowhere near the only target in this city.

Growmon inhaled deeply.

He smelt fire and smoke and the burning of metal and flesh.

He searched with his eyes and saw nothing but flames and the illuminated steel of the city.

But Growmon did not need his eyes or his nose.

His Tamer told him who to hunt first. Told him _where_.

As Pyocomon before them, the Guardromon couldn't run and they couldn't hide.

**XxXXxX**

Takato observed the battle through his Digivice. He was basically seeing through his partner's eyes, so his ability to keep track of his partners own condition was limited, but it was the best he would get at this distance.

"So Growmon can'tbeat a Perfect on his own, yet, huh…?"

Lucemon, as always, was quick to respond.

"Of course, Takato. If this game was easy enough to require no input on the part of the player, it goes without saying that it would be a failure on my part, right?"

That was a good point, Takato had to admit. Interacting with the other characters in this game was fun, of course, but until now, there had never really been any danger for them. If things had gotten dangerous, they'd always had the option of blowing their cover and abandoning ship.

Before Andromon, that is.

They'd always had the option to evolve to Adult and shoot their way out of any situation. Things had gotten a bit risky several times, but it was always for the same reason—Takato had consciously chosen to keep his cover.

But there had always been the option.

And for that reason, he'd never felt as if he were in any actual danger. Even on missions into the Kaiser's territory, he'd purposely left behind all of his cards except the one necessary for evolution.

Sure, carrying all of his cards with him would have been dangerous and, perhaps, even foolish. But if he'd felt like he was in danger, it would have been the logical thing to do. If the Chosen had seen them, it would have raised a lot of questions he simply couldn't answer, but he could had hidden them. It's not like he was regularly given a pat down or anything.

But he hadn't.

Because he'd felt safe enough with just Growmon.

But now, Growmon was already in play.

No, more than that. Takato didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't ignore the facts.

_Growmon had been beaten back._

It might have been a close fight, but when Growmon had fought Andromon, Andromon had won.

And if Takato hadn't brought his cards with him, Growmon would be dead.

His partner had nearly died and he'd nearly lost the game, and the reason was as obvious as it was simple.

He'd been arrogant.

Not just in the fights before now, but in this fight as well.

It was obvious, right? He could have interfered before now. It would have been easy; he could have done it exactly the same way as he had just now and slashed a card at a useful moment.

But he hadn't.

Because he'd wanted to see if he'd have too.

Maybe he'd actually thought Growmon could just win.

Or maybe he'd known that he couldn't.

But either way, he'd stepped back and watched, because he'd needed to know how this fight would end.

Well, now he did.

He didn't really like the answer, but he had it now, at least.

Growmon couldn't beat a Perfect by himself.

Yet.

Takato may not have liked the answer, but he wasn't overly bothered by it, either, because of that one simple word that was like a shield for his pride.

Yet.

At the moment, Growmon couldn't beat a Perfect by himself.

But that would change.

Maybe even today.

Takato would get his act together for the rest of this fight and do what he should have done from the beginning.

He was a Tamer. He'd support his partner to the best of his abilities.

And every Digimon in this city would die and become Growmon's. Including Andromon.

But first, he needed to heal Growmon's wounds. And he knew just the way to do it.

Just like they had earlier, the Guardromon would heal his partner.

The closest one to Growmon was less then fifteen meters away, through a building and on an adjacent street. He was one of the one's Andromon had activated and was the first of the slow Digimon to be attracted by the noise of the fight.

But that wasn't his target.

At the moment, Takato just wanted two things.

Easy prey and a way to get Growmon back into the fight quickly.

There were three Guardromon some thirty meters away. They hadn't moved all during the fight and Takato assumed them to be deactivated.

They wouldn't run.

They wouldn't hide.

They wouldn't even fight back.

They were perfect.

**XxXXxX**

Growmon took off in a dead run, wasting no time. Every moment he took was another moment for Andromon to recover—something which could prove fatal.

He swallowed up the distance to his targets in seconds, each of his great strides covering meters.

Reaching the desired building, he didn't slow down, nor did he hesitate.

He crashed right through its pathetic walls, fire already spewing from his mouth.

He drenched two of them with flames in an instant and was loading them almost before they burst into data.

Behind him, Andromon had finally recovered and, perhaps realizing his intentions—or at least his targets—was already in hot pursuit.

Growmon finished loading the deleted pair, but had no time to stand around while loading the third. He leaned over quickly, spreading his gaping jaws wide, and, biting down on the metallic upper body of the remaining Guardromon, lifted his unresisting victim and began to run, taking him 'to go.'

He crashed out the other side of the building, into the street beyond, nearly stumbling, but managing to recover. He clenched his jaw over his meal, grunting for a moment as the lifeless Adult's armor held, before suddenly giving way as he exploded into data.

While his mouth was full, he whipped his head back and forth as his Tamer had commanded, unleashing a rain of hardened hairs on a startled Guardromon in the street.

Despite being reactivated, the Adult Digimon had no time to respond. Proving its worth, the literally hair-thin spikes slipped easily past their target's armor.

The Guardromon stiffened.

Briefly.

Growmon was already moving past him when he exploded into data. He loaded them both without pause, his mind already on his next targets.

Inhaling deeply even as he ran, he released his strongest attack with a thunderous roar, bringing down the buildings across the street in a cascade of falling rubble and broken data. He leapt in the destruction, loading the data from the buildings and—more importantly—the Guardromon that had been right where his tamer had said they'd be.

Suddenly, he received a warning.

Growmon was annoyed, but not really surprised.

He knew Andromon would catch up to him eventually.

Honestly, he was just surprised it took him this long.

Still, it was too soon to fight.

Growmon looked down at his 'hands.'

They didn't even deserve to be called such, yet. Really, they were just masses of vaguely cohesive data coming out of the stumps of his arms. With every Guardromon he absorbed, they began to take further shape and solidity. A few more and he'd have definite fingers, and a few after that, his skin would return and his hands would be back.

But not if Andromon killed him before he got a chance to get them back.

A quick check proved what he expected—the effects of the Meramon card were gone.

But he wasn't worried.

His Tamer had a plan.

He just had to find more Guardromon.

Takato would handle the rest.

**XxXXxX**

Takato frowned as he looked at his cards.

Growmon had killed a lot of Digimon, but many of them had been repeats—that is, they'd been Digimon he'd already beaten.

As such, he really didn't have many cards. And even less of them were useful.

He'd have to do something about that, at some point.

Sadly, he didn't have much of a chance at the moment, which could prove really dangerous.

Because all his cards were shit.

He knew the reason—he and Guilmon had been laying low, trying not to attract attention to themselves.

It was kind of hard to do that while killing high profile Digimon.

Especially since this was their first time reaching past Perfect level.

Still…they'd just have to make use with what they had.

Takato chose two cards that he thought would be useful and put the rest away.

All he had to do was buy some time. With those two, it shouldn't be too difficult.

One could be deadly if he used it right.

And the other…

Well, half the battle was in the mind.

Takato was confident that Andromon would find that particular card unnerving.

But for now…

"Flymon, Activate!"

**XxXXxX**

Growmon felt the card take effect and realized instantly how to best use it.

He immediately looked back at Andromon, seeing that he was in hot pursuit.

…And too far away to be an effective target.

Growmon briefly considered waiting for his opponent to catch up, but discarded the idea a second later for being stupid.

Andromon was running towards him; there was no need to slow down, because he'd catch up eventually.

More importantly, his priority was recovering, not fighting Andromon.

Not yet, at least.

Speaking of which…

Growmon narrowed his eyes as a plan began to form.

Turning down an intersection, he came across a fairly large group of Guardromon; seven of them, all activated.

He was going to simply bypass them, but with all of them right here, wouldn't that be a waste? He stopped right in front of them.

"Fire Blaster!"

Turning his head in an arc, he exhaled the flames over the machine Digimon. He didn't focus on any particular one of them long enough to cause deletion—he didn't have the time—but he stopped them all in their tracks

Stopping his attack, he immediately took another deep breath and counted in his head.

One…two…three—

Andromon was close enough.

He called upon Flymon's data.

"Poison Powder!"

Exhaling quickly, he filled the area with a thick mist of poisonous dust, hiding everyone within it from each other's view.

But Growmon didn't need to see to do what he had planned.

He charged.

Right out of the mist.

He didn't really expect the poison to have that much effect on the mostly metallic Digimon. Flymon's poison wasn't all that strong to begin with, serving to weaken, rather than kill.

It did put a lot of stuff that was flammable in the air, though.

He exhaled another wave of fire at it and it lit up like a Christmas tree.

**XxXXxX**

Takato had to shield his eyes from his vantage point.

"Wow. I can't really say that _any_ of that was part of my plan, but it's just so beautiful, it doesn't seem right to complain."

"I think you'll find, Takato, that as a strategist, a large part of your role is taking advantage of situations that turn out surprisingly well." Lucemon advised.

**XxXXxX**

Growmon didn't need his eyes to tell him he'd deleted the Guardromon.

Their data told him _that_.

Sadly, Andromon survived, but he hadn't actually expected that to kill him—it was just a distraction.

Which reminded him; he should be running.

Dashing away quickly, Growmon put the second part of his plan into motion. If, between the poisonous fog and the explosion, he could cause Andromon to lose track of him, the Cyborg Digimon would have to waste precious time tracking him back down.

Precious time that Growmon could use to recover and prepare for the inevitable confrontation.

He turned down a street, hoping to gain top speed upon the long, open stretch. Crashing through buildings may have been a faster route, but it would also leave behind a trail that was easy to follow. Better then, to take the longer path and be safe, then to rush in foolishly.

His Tamer had provided him with the location of a number of Guardromon in the area, but after some deliberation, he chose to ignore them. All the Guardromon in this area were in small, scattered pockets—probably those few that had been unlucky enough to be alone or inside when the Dark Tower had been destroyed.

Most of them had probably been deactivated simply because they were so out of the way that Andromon hadn't gotten to them yet.

But logically, there were those he _had_ gotten too, right? Where were they, then?

Growmon had thought it through. The Guardromon Andromon had probably reactivated first were the ones that had been together in large groups. Logically, it would be more efficient, as they'd all be together in one place.

And what was a machine if not efficient?

From there, Growmon had simply had to think about where the largest group was, and the answer was obvious.

Hadn't the Kaiser sent pretty much all of the Guardromon after them just earlier today?

If he assumed for a moment that all the Guardromon in that area were activated, then the question arose…

Why hadn't they come to Andromon's aid?

If he tried to think about it from a machine's point of view, even that began to make sense. Andromon was a powerful Perfect level Digimon and any Digimon that could give him trouble—as the explosions they'd cause would surely attest he _had_—would, presumably, be equally powerful, if not more so.

An Adult Digimon would have no place in such a fight—in fact, they would more like be a hindrance to Andromon, as he'd have to watch out for and protect the weaker Digimon.

But that was only if they were alone.

An _army_ of Adult Digimon, on the other hand, could be a serious threat to even a Perfect Digimon, especially if headed by Andromon himself. On their home turf, they would likely crush a Perfect Digimon.

But armies, to be truly effective, required a degree of organization. The Guardromon would need to create a plan, get into position, and then execute said plan.

But before all of that…

They'd need to gather together.

And where was the best place to gather?

A location where most of them already were.

Growmon was heading towards the site of the earlier battle to confirm his theory, ignoring all the minor snacks along their way as distractions from the real prize.

It would be dangerous, taking on an army that could wear down and defeat a Perfect level Digimon.

But Growmon had an advantage they didn't know about.

He could load data for more power. As such, simple numbers were not enough to deter him, for each fallen opponent would do nothing but grant him more strength; the best strategy against him was to force him into single combat against a more powerful opponent.

Against a group of weak Digimon, though, he was unstoppable. He would not weaken or tire—or if he did, his enemy's own data would revitalize him.

Moments later, Takato seemed to catch on to his plan and feed him a stream of information that made him smile.

The hunt was on.

**XxXXxX**

Takato frowned, unsure of this change in events.

He understood his partner's actions, of course. Maybe even agreed with them—consuming that many Guardromon would heal Growmon completely and that would just be the beginning.

It wasn't even that he didn't believe his partner could win.

But…

As the Tamer, it was his job to think things through. While Growmon could think for himself in battle and quickly react to sudden developments long before he had a chance to give orders or slash cards, it was his job to make the long term plans and preparations that would hopefully result in victory. Lucemon had said that quite often and he'd taken it to heart.

As such, while Growmon charged in fearlessly, it was Takato's responsibility to think about this calmly and logically.

Was there something he was missing? Was there some hidden flaw in this plan? Some downside he wasn't seeing?

If there was, it was his job to figure out what they were—preferably, before it screwed them over.

Would Andromon catch up to fast? Was this a trap? Were they being lured towards the Guardromon?

And more importantly…if this was about to blow up in their faces, what exactly was he going to do about it?

Takato grit his teeth.

He still had only one card of use—he really had been woefully unprepared for this day. He'd known from the beginning that they would eventually have to fight an opponent they couldn't just effortlessly crush, but…

Why had he been taken so off guard, then?

**XxXXxX**

The Guardromon were in sight. If he moved any further, he would be noticed in moments.

But…Growmon didn't hesitate for even a moment.

He fell upon the first one even as the others saw him for the first time. In that brief moment of hesitation that followed suddenly seeing a giant red dinosaur, Growmon's jaws closed around his first victim.

To the Guardromon's credit, they reacted with the quick efficiency of machines. The moment they saw his hurting one of their own, their surprise seemed to vanish. In eerie unison, a dozen pairs of arms were raised in his direction as the Guardromon closest to his position prepared to attack. But—

In this case, their numbers got in their way. The offensive power of this many Guardromon was more than enough to kill Growmon, but in their current formation, they could not attack a target all at once—if they tried, their attacks would likely hit their fellows.

Meanwhile, Growmon could probably fire in random directions with his eyes closed and still hit _something_.

He easily avoided the twenty-something attacks that were launched his way by leaping into the air even as he crushed his captive in his monstrously powerful jaws.

Almost literally swallowing the destroyed Guardromon's data, he reopened his mouth to reveal a frightening red light gathering at the back of his throat.

"Exhaust Flame!"

The pillar of dragon fire struck a particularly closely packed section of Guardromon before he swept it in a wide arc, destroying everything in its path. The ending point of the arc was the place he was about to land—focusing the blast there for a long moment, he cleared it completely of Guardromon, as well as tossed up a great deal of smoke and debris.

Landing, his entire body was completely hidden within the smoke and fire. Pausing for just a moment to initiate the process of loading data, fire gathered between his jaws again.

In that instant, his Tamer transmitted everything needed to know, just as Growmon had known he would. Despite his eyes being clouded and the smoke rendering his sensitive nose useless, Takato transmitted the location of every Guardromon in the area.

Despite being blinded, Growmon continued his ruthless attack, hitting opponents both near and far with impossible, deadly accuracy, loading a continuous stream of data all the while.

When Andromon finally got here, Growmon would see that he was met with nothing but scattered clouds of data and a ruined battlefield.

And then Andromon would die.

**XxXXxX**

Andromon arrived to a scene of destruction.

The streets were either melted into weird shapes or cracked beyond repair. Windows all along the street were shattered; scorch marks and craters littered the walls of buildings, signs of explosions.

But the ruins of the street were not what drew Andromon's attention.

Yes, without a doubt…this had been where all the Guardromon had been gathered. And yet…this street was empty.

No…_almost_ empty.

He couldn't see him, but…

The creature that did this had to be around here somewhere.

Andromon was tense—it wasn't very long ago that he'd been ambushed, after all. He wouldn't put it past that monster to do so again and in his current condition…

Well, he wasn't in a position where he could let himself suffer any more time.

And yet…that monster had killed his friends. Not just ten or twenty, though that would have been bad enough, but into the hundreds.

Even if it meant risking his life, he would hunt that monster down and kill him.

Though, it's not as if his motivation particularly mattered, in this case. Even if he'd wanted to, it's not like he could run in this state—he'd be hunted down in no time. And even if he'd managed to escape…where would he go?

He wanted to send a message to the Chosen; it was quite possible that he'd die in the coming battle. If he did, he wanted to at least pass on what he'd managed to learn here today.

But…that didn't seem like a possibility.

Though…even if he said that…it didn't matter in the slightest unless he could actually find his opponent.

Where was he? The red bastard was the size of a small house—how could a creature his size be hiding?

**XxXXxX**

This was it. Andromon was all alone and probably tense enough to react without even thinking.

And he had the perfect way to exploit that.

With a last, fleeting glance at it, Takato slashed his final card.

"It's time to end this, Growmon. Guardromon, Activate!"

**XxXXxX**

"Destruction Grenade!"

Andromon spun around instantly at the voice, having been ready for the attack—

Only to freeze as his tracks as his brain registered the actual words.

For a brief instant, he allowed himself to dare to think that maybe there had been survivors—that he hadn't failed his _entire_ city…

Which was exactly what Takato had wanted him to think.

The blast took him full in the chest, sending him stumbling back and blinding him with an explosion. Even if it hadn't really hurt, Andromon knew he was off balance.

Worse, he was pretty sure his attacker knew it too and that it had been the intention behind the otherwise weak attack.

Which meant he was more than capable of realizing what would happen next.

So he wasn't at all surprised when a sudden force slammed into his chest.

He was, however, surprised when it didn't send him flying back. He was surprised when his armor didn't begin to heat. He was surprised when the force that flamed into him was not an enormous lance of fire.

But all of that together did not compare to how surprised he was when the fingers of an enormous hand wrapped around him and lifted him high into the air, above the smoke that had been caused by the explosion and shrouded his sight.

His eyes met one's a nearly feral yellow. Half-lidded, his opponent looked like a highly satisfied cat.

"Tell me…can a machine like you experience fear?"

**XxXXxX**

Growmon was elated.

Today had been a very long and painful day for him. He'd been chased all around the city, then he'd been nearly bisected, and _then_ both of his arms had been chopped off.

And yet…

He'd never felt this good in his entire—admittedly short—life. With the power flowing through him now, he felt like he could do anything. In absorbing the Guardromon, his limbs had been remade—but more than that, the loading of so many Adult Digimon had given him a might he hadn't even dreamt of before. Holding a Chrome Digizoid Perfect level in his hands, he felt like he could crush him with a quick flex of his fingers.

Was this what it felt like to be truly powerful?

He liked the feeling. He liked it a lot.

And more than anything…he wanted to feel that way more and more. He felt almost addicted to the sensation and for the first time in his life he really had a wish of his own, besides to obey his Tamer.

He wanted to see his power grow. He wanted to see opposition crushed. At his Tamer's command, he had devoured hundreds—thousands—and now he wanted to thank his tamer for pushing him to do so.

It hadn't felt that way at the time, but just a short time ago, when he had just been born, he'd been so…weak. And now he was _strong_. And strength felt so much better than weakness.

But with that desire also came a fear.

Would someone take away his power as he had done to others? Would they devour him and make his power their own.

The thought truly terrified him. He had only one purpose in life—he had been designed to 'grow.' Or rather, he had been designed to 'consume.'

A part of him wondered, as it always did, if that was truly the only purpose his existence held. Was he not a living being? Was he not able to think for himself? Could his existence really be so basic as to be summed up in a single word?

And yet, as it always did, Lucemon's voice rose up in response to his question and gave the reply that he'd been given when he'd first voiced his question.

'Wasn't that purpose enough? If you grow and consume and destroy, you will definitely be able to stay in this world. And if you can't, then Takato has no need of you.'

Perhaps that was what he was truly afraid of.

As long as he was strong…as long as he was the best…there was definitely a reason for him to exist in this world.

And there was definitely a reason for him to stay with Takato.

So for that reason…he would definitely become the 'strongest.'

For if he couldn't do that, there was no point to him.

"This fight is over, Andromon." He said. "And I'm the winner."

Ignoring his words, the Perfect level immediately began to struggle. Growmon casually tightened his grip, electing a cry of pain.

Then, Andromon suddenly stopped.

"Gatling Missile!"

Growmon lifted an arm to cover his face, not at all surprised by the attack. It connected with a thunderous explosion, casting up smoke and debris. In response, he released Andromon—not because he had too, but simply because it didn't matter anymore.

He flung a single huge limb through the smoke, sweeping it away, just in time to see Andromon's charge.

"Spiral Sword!"

Wordlessly, Growmon extended the blade on his right arm, and it began to glow with electromagnetic waves. As Andromon's blade swung at him, he swept his own out to meet it.

A moment later, there was a metallic echo, a burst of data, and a sudden, startled cry of pain.

Andromon stumbled back, clutching the stump of his arm.

—This fight was already over. It had ended the moment he had been given time to recover.

Andromon was wounded where he was now whole.

Andromon was exhausted where he had been rejuvenated.

And most of all…

Andromon was defeated where he was victorious.

He nearly gloated, but…he had no more words for the dead.

But…Andromon still owed him another arm.

The blade on his left arm extended and began to glow as he slowly approached. Andromon watched his approach with weary eyes.

He knew that Growmon's slow pace was nothing but a way of gloating. If Andromon tried to escape, it would disappear in an instant and the hunt would be on.

He couldn't run.

He couldn't hide.

And worst of all, he couldn't win.

Acknowledging that fact probably hurt more than his wounds—Growmon could see that much in his opponent's eyes.

But…

Even so…Andromon would not back down. Growmon knew that much from simply fighting him—he may not be an expert tactician, but he could at least tell if someone was the type of person to back down or run away.

So he wasn't even slightly surprised when Andromon's chest plate opened.

In fact, he didn't even slow his stride.

Instead, he literally spat a burst of fire, catching one of the missiles in midair, causing an explosion. The other missile just sailed straight through the smoke, opening it's 'mouth' to reveal a small Gatling gun, which began releasing a spray of bullets.

Closing his eyes, Growmon just let the rounds bounce harmlessly off his skin. Tilting his head to the side, he let it fly straight past him and opened his eyes—

To see another pair of missiles coming towards him.

Feeling a flicker of annoyance, he swung an arm, splitting both missiles with a single blade and weathering the resulting explosion.

Striding out of the smoke, he saw Andromon rushing towards him. Which he immediately realized was ridiculous, since the Cyborg's close range weaponry had been destroyed. As such, it was probably a—

Ah. A trap.

Growmon's tail flicked up, meeting the missile that had stealthily been approaching from behind, even as Andromon leapt, firing another pair of missiles from his still open chest plate in the hopes of scoring a point blank shot.

If the previous attack had connected and taken him by surprise, it might have even worked. Instead, an exhalation of fire connected with the missiles just as they left Andromon, exploding right in front of him.

Of course, it was right in front of Growmon too, but the attacks of a half dead opponent wouldn't hurt him, even if it was from a half dead Perfect.

Of course, at this point, he might be more than just half way to the grave. Unlike Growmon, Andromon had taken that blast's damage completely—and with his protective chest plate open and unable to actually defend him. The blast had thrown him away, sending him crashing into a building and leaving his chest a scorched wreck.

Andromon tried to stand up, but his body had finally succumbed to damage and he fell back down, defeated.

Growmon felt almost…disappointed. Not quite because Andromon had been defeated, or even that the fight was finally over, but because of something he couldn't quite put into words.

Maybe it was a fleeting feeling of regret. Even if it was to increase his power…this really had been a nice city, once. Before he'd destroyed it.

He crushed that feeling mercilessly and approached Andromon. The Cyborg's face was blank and expressionless, unwilling to show any fear, even before death.

Leaning down, he severed Andromon's remaining hand with a plasma-like blade. Andromon released a not-quite suppressed cry of pain and glared angrily at him.

After all, what did he have to fear at this point? Growmon had already killed everyone he cared about and removed both his arms. He was about to die and he knew it. Nothing Growmon could possibly do could hurt him any more than he already had been.

Before that simple realization, Growmon felt a flash of something that may have been guilt.

"You took my hands," Growmon said. "And I took yours."

Rather than gloating, it felt almost like he was trying to explain his actions.

Andromon just glared.

The Dragon and the Cyborg traded glares and Growmon looked away first.

What he felt didn't matter. He'd won and it was over. All he had to do was make it official.

"Exhaust Flame." He said.

But for some reason, he felt no pleasure in doing so.

It was odd how quickly the high of power had faded.

**XxXXxX**

The Digimon Kaiser sat silently in his room, Wormmon his only company.

It was late—quite a bit past midnight, in fact. If he stayed up much later, it would noticeably affect him in the morning; it didn't really matter to him, though, except that people might annoy him by asking why he looked so tired.

But…this was more important.

Andromon had failed.

No—worse. An entire city of Adult Digimon had failed. He'd split the Chosen up for hours and it still hadn't been enough to beat them. In fact, the only one who had come even close to succeeding was Andromon, who at least had them on the run for awhile. Truthfully, he was probably the only one who'd come close to winning.

And perhaps that was why Ken's thoughts were focused on him.

He had failed…but not because he was weak. In this case, Ken had to swallow his pride and admit the truth—the fault was his.

His Evil Rings weren't good enough.

He had managed to control hundreds—thousands—of Adults and Childs. In that regard, his Rings worked almost perfectly; while at first, there had been a few errors until he'd improved and corrected the design, the Rings were now completely reliable.

Except on Perfect Digimon.

He'd controlled Andromon for a time, even infecting him with the same virus he had the Guardromon and using his mechanical nature against him. And for a time, it had seemed to work.

But the Chosen had broken through, somehow, and freed him. Not only had he lost his only Perfect Digimon, but he'd lost one of his most valuable cities; few, if any, of the areas he controlled had as high a concentration of easily controllable Adult Digimon.

With its loss, it was impossible to continue denying the truth.

He was losing. The Chosen had freed too many cities, building up a momentum that he was helpless to stop. He had his armies, but they had theirs, too. The areas they freed had been largely on the defensive, but it was a very good defense, leaving him unable to break through the borders of their territory in any way that would be worth the cost.

However, while it rendered him unable to go on the attack, it also required the full might of the freed areas, which would have resulted in a stalemate if not for the Chosen. Using portals, they entered areas he controlled, freeing them and turn them to their side. Soon, the simply difference in numbers would allow the freed Digimon to put together an army separate from their defensive forces. Ken could just imagine the Chosen riding into his territory at the head of a huge mob of Digimon.

If that were too happen…

It would be the end of him. He would lose the moment they managed to put together a force that large. If he had to devote his own forces to counteract their army, he'd leave important locations undefended and the Chosen would literally be able to fly around and take a territory. Once they established a foothold anywhere deep in his territory, he'd have to defend against multiple fronts—if that happened, it would only be a matter of time before he fell.

If he wanted to have any chance at victory, he had to turn the tide. He no longer had enough time to contemplate option after option and slowly decide which to use. He needed to choose his next course of action right now if he wanted to have any hope of being able to actually implement it in time.

In that regard, perhaps he was lucky, because the answer was obvious.

There was only one real option. Adults would no longer cut it. They had proven ineffective, both alone and in numbers.

His only option would be to make use of Perfects.

But he'd already proven that his Rings wouldn't be enough. He'd used both a Ring and a virus on Andromon and it hadn't worked—against Digimon that weren't Machines, he'd have only the Ring and he'd probably find even less success.

He'd need something better, but making a successful model would require testing—preferable not on an actual Perfect Digimon, who could break loose if he failed.

In which case, he'd need to test it on someone of lower level—or, even better yet, on a Perfect that would not lash out, if it broke free.

In which case…the choice was simple.

And yet, for a brief moment, he hesitated to make it.

And so, it was made for him, by someone who knew him so well as to know what he was thinking—by the _only_ one who knew him that well.

"Please, Ken-chan…" Wormmon began. "Use me. I will definitely not fail you. I will definitely continue to be…your strongest soldier."

For a moment, Ken could think of nothing to say. Closing his eyes, he nodded once, and made his decision.

"—Of course. Then, tomorrow, our counteract will begin. I'll rely on you to lead it to victory, Wormmon."

**XxXXxX**

Takato sighed as he exited the game.

He was tired. He shouldn't have stayed up so late and he'd probably be regretting it tomorrow—no, at this point, it would be 'later today' wouldn't it?

Given how he was on the best of day, it would be a miracle if he managed to get to class on time in the morning.

Still, he couldn't say he regretted it. The game obeyed a normal progression of time, even when he wasn't playing, which was cool, but also meant he would miss things while he was gone.

Which, if he knew Lucemon, would result in him being screwed over somehow, no matter what he did.

But all things considered, today had gone very well.

From his stand point as an 'ally of the Chosen,' he'd helped release an entire city of enslaved Digimon. Not only that, but it was a very valuable area that the Kaiser would definitely feel the loss of. Not only that, but he'd insured that the Kaiser would never be able to take control of that area ever again.

Or, at least, that even if he did, it would be absolutely useless to him.

And, more importantly, from his true position, today had been immensely profitable. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he'd benefited more from today than he had from all his work prior. Between the acquisition of Growmon and the loading of any entire city of Guardromon, he'd shored up his own power. The additional loading of Andromon had proven immensely useful as well, both due to the inherent power of a Perfect Digimon and the card that had resulted from his death.

Without a doubt, Growmon was no longer simply a powerful Adult. He was well into Perfect territory, which meant he was far stronger than anyone that either the Chosen or the Kaiser had on their sides. Regardless of who he fought, Takato felt his partner would not be defeated.

He'd even voiced his certainty of victory to Lucemon, pondering whether it was time to end his disguise and challenge the Chosen and the Kaiser.

And yet…Lucemon's response had made him nervous.

'Don't be so hasty, Takato. The Kaiser's up to something.'

It made sense that as he got stronger, the game would get more difficult, of course. He'd known it would do that. But it didn't make it any less frustrating when Lucemon did stuff like that.

What could the Kaiser do at this point? They had him on the run and everyone knew it. Takato couldn't think of way real way for him to make a comeback, especially considering Growmon's newfound power.

But what worried him? He was pretty sure _Lucemon_ could.

Takato sighed at the thought.

It was pointless to worry about it. What happened would happen; the game was no fun without a challenge, anyway.

As he left the computer room, he was surprised to find that all the lights were off. Well, his parents had probably gone to sleep—

"Takato?"

Takato winced and turned around. He was busted.

His mother frowned at him.

"Where have you been?" She demanded. "You didn't even come down for supper!"

"Sorry, mom," He apologized. "I just so wrapped up in the game that I lost track of time."

Her frown deepened.

"You've done that a lot lately. Every day you come home and spend hours on that computer…I'm worried about you, Takato."

"It's just a game, Mom." Takato defended. "There's nothing wrong; I'm only having a lot of fun."

"I'll be the judge of that." She declared firmly. "Tomorrow, I want you to show me this game you've been so addicted to. If there's nothing wrong, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"


End file.
